This book is about the human disruption and restlessness in the modern world and the way in which three important 20th century thinkers Gabriel Marcel, René Girard and Mikhail Bakhtin dealt with the subject. Although all three emerged from different backgrounds they produced remarkably parallel philosophies that centered on the human condition and pointed out the need for «conversion». The first part of the book elaborates Gabriel Marcel's thought and the relationship between religion and the human quest for personal and transpersonal harmony. Further chapters provide surveys on the philosophies of «conversion» of Girard, Bakhtin and Rousseau. The book is a contribution to the discussion about human religious consciousness.

Autorentext

The Authors: Pius Ojara, SJ, Ph.D., is a Jesuit and student of theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California. He taught from 1999-2003 at The Jesuit School of Philosophy and Humanities, Arrupe College, Harare, Zimbabwe. He obtained his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2003 from the University of Zimbabwe. He specialized in the Philosophy of Gabriel Marcel in relation to the human condition. Currently he is working on a book entitled Towards Greater Freedom With Human Bodiliness.
Patrick Madigan received his doctorate in philosophy from Tulane University in 1972. He is currently lecturer in the history of philosophy at Arrupe College in Harare, Zimbabwe. Patrick Madigan is the author of several books. He recently published The Completion of the Project of the West and Its Romantic Sequel: Essays in the History of Western Culture (2003).

Inhalt
Contents: The Emergence of the Need for Hope and for Conversion in Gabriel Marcel - The Origins and Drama of Human Restlessness - A Pathway of Human Conversion - The Priority of Being over Having - Human Religious Consciousness - Unexpected Assistance by Romantic Art to the Christian Revolution in René Girard - Girard and Bakhtin - Conversion from Selfishness to Self-Love: Jean-Jacques Rousseau.