In Excess: Studies of Saturated Phenomena

by Jean-Luc Marion, Robyn Horner (Translator), Vincent Berraud (Translator)

In the third book in the trilogy that includes Reduction and Givenness and Being Given. Marion renews his argument for a phenomenology of givenness, with penetrating analyses of the phenomena of event, idol, flesh, and icon. Turning explicitly to hermeneutical dimensions of the debate, Marion masterfully draws together issues emerging from his close reading of Descartes and Pascal, Husserl and Heidegger, Levinas and Henry. Concluding with a revised version of his response to Derrida, In the Name: How to Avoid Speaking of It, Marion powerfully re-articulates the theological possibilities of phenomenology.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Catholic

196 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

Jean-Luc Marion is a French philosopher and Catholic theologian whose work bridges phenomenology, modern philosophy, and theology. A former student of Jacques Derrida, he studied at the University of Nanterre, the Sorbonne, and the École normale supérieure under Derrida, Louis Althusser, and Gilles Deleuze, while privately exploring theology with figures such as Louis Bouyer, Jean Daniélou, Henri de Lubac, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. His early academic career included assistant lectureships at the Sorbonne and a doctorate completed in 1980, after which he taught at the University of Poitiers and later directed philosophy programs at the University Paris X – Nanterre and the University of Paris IV (Sorbonne). Marion has also held visiting and endowed professorships at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he served as John Nuveen Professor and later as Andrew Thomas and Grace McNichols Greeley Professor of Catholic Studies, retiring in 2022. Elected to the Académie Française in 2008, he delivered the 2014 Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow and has received numerous honors including the Premio Joseph Ratzinger, the Karl Jaspers Prize, and the Grand Prix de philosophie de l’Académie française. Marion’s philosophical contributions focus on the concept of givenness, radicalizing phenomenology to explore the “saturated phenomenon,” which exceeds the capacities of cognition, and examining love through intentionality, inspired by Emmanuel Levinas. His major works include God Without Being, Réduction et donation, Étant donné, and Du surcroît, addressing idolatry, love, the gift, and the limits of perception. Marion’s thought has deeply influenced contemporary debates in philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and theology, emphasizing how phenomena show themselves prior to consciousness, how love implicates the invisible other, and how the gift and givenness constitute the foundational conditions for understanding being, knowledge, and relationality.

Reviews

[Jessie Joshua Lino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saturating contents.

[Gab Nug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as a key part of my graduate thesis utilizing Jean-Luc Marion's phenomenology.

As far as Marion's phenomenological triptych goes, this one was in many ways the most enjoyable to read. It's focus is on Marion's concept of the saturated phenomena, and in this text he examines and analyzes concrete examples of each, and then ends the text with a revision of an essay he had formerly written, "In the Name: How to Avoid Speaking It," in which he discusses the extent and method by which one can carry out theological practice. The fact that it was brought down into concrete life made it much easier to understand, because then it wasn't completely up in abstract land. That, and I found the writing in this one to be much more beautiful. Although, it offered much of the same content that was offered in "Being Given," he deepened these concepts that are seeping with relevance in living in the real world. I think this was an excellent conclusion to his triptych, and I look forward to continue reading more of Marion's material.

[Yeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is perhaps most enjoyable when it's not dealing with Kant, Husserl or Heidegger, but art, faith, and scripture.