Grosholz, Emily R. Representation and Productive Ambiguity in Mathematics and the Sciences.

Roberts, David Lindsay

GSCHWANDTNER, Christina M. Reading Jean-Luc Marion: Exceeding Metaphysics. Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2007. xxiii + 320 pp. Cloth, $65.00; Paper, $24.95--The fundamental aim of this handsomely printed volume is to explain that, through a careful and proper reading of all of Jean-Luc Marion's key writings, one can come to understand how and, more importantly, why the need to exceed metaphysics, one of the themes central to his life's work, leads Marion to "articulate a theology of excess and a phenomenology of saturation" (p. xi) in his attempt to elucidate the relationship between philosophy and theology and, ultimately, God and creatures. But, rather than producing yet another more-or-less standard commentary on his thought, the author takes a fresh and bold approach by arguing that a coherent and synthetic understanding Marion's theological and phenomenological thought can only be achieved by grounding it in his often overlooked work on Descartes. "Marion's desire to 'exceed metaphysics' is guided by his outline and criticism of the metaphysical system evident in Descartes: its concern with epistemology and its doubled grounding in the thinking ego and divine causality" (p. 243).

The structure of the book, divided into three parts consisting of three chapters each, mimics profitably Marion's own tripartite lifelong project devoted to Descartes (metaphysics), theology (God), and phenomenology (the self and the other). Each part begins with a helpful review of pertinent critical secondary literature and is then followed by a careful discussion of the relevant subject matter.

In the first part ("The Constraints of Metaphysics") the author strives to demonstrate the extent to which Marion's attempt to go beyond ("overcome") the limitations of metaphysics is rooted in his study of Descartes and the late medieval context. The second part ("A God of Excess") is devoted to Marion's treatment of God, a topic which, according to the author, may be most profitably considered only in light of his consideration of Descartes' white/blank theology. In particular, the author argues that it is only when Marion's thought is seen within the Cartesian and late medieval context that one can come to appreciate how subtly he is able to find a balance between the absolute transcendence and total immanence of God.

In the third part of the book ("A Self Open to the Other"), the author examines Marion's account of the human self and argues that, for Marion, the "saturated phenomenon reformulates not only one's reflection about God but also thought about the human self' and that his "phenomenology of excess requires and makes possible such a different and new account of subjectivity" (p. 181). Perhaps the most interesting insight on this topic is the contention that Marion's "analysis of the Cartesian ego provides significant pointers both for the shortcomings of the traditional subject and for a more successful account of the self that might come 'after' it" (p. xvi).

This volume successfully presents a persuasive and lucid argument for the employment of a heretofore under-utilized dimension of Marion's thought as a means of understanding and articulating a coherent vision of his position. The author makes the case that it is only through careful analysis and consideration of Marion's exegesis of Descartes (and at several opportune junctures, of Pascal's response to Descartes) that one properly can understand his need (and, indeed, ability) to go beyond metaphysics (for example, the necessity of "exceeding metaphysics," as the book's subtitle insists) in order to "articulate a theology of excess and a phenomenology of saturation" (p. xi). In other words, one must advance to a different kind of knowing, if one is to navigate successfully the murky channels that lead to God. It is Pascal, then, who provides the crucial insight that this other kind of knowing involves going beyond traditional metaphysics, because it relies on the rationality of the heart rather than of the mind. The author notes that, according to Marion, "Pascal's account of love is what overcomes Cartesian metaphysics most successfully" (p. 246). And it is through reflection on this insight that one is led to a deeper understanding of what Marion considers to be the proper relationship between theology and philosophy, the will and the intellect, the heart and the mind.

The author argues that Marion, throughout his writings, "identifies theology with a rationality of the 'will' while philosophy is a rationality of the 'mind'... In order to have any sense of God, then, one must move into a different regime of rationality. One must approach God with the heart and not with the mind. God is known in love, not in certainty" (pp. 249-50). Marion's analysis of Descartes, aided by the critical insights of Pascal, thus permits (indeed, urges) him to "exceed" the Cartesian metaphysics "through and because of the givenness of charity" (p. 250). In the final analysis, the abiding theme and project in Marion's writings is "the generous givenness that pours itself out in abandon for the other" (p. 250).

Those already familiar with Marion's work will find this volume both a provocative and congenial addition to the literature on his thought. And for those who are relatively new to this fascinating thinker this volume may reliably be utilized as a lucid and comprehensive, while at the same time serious and challenging, introduction to his ideas.

The book contains extensive and detailed endnotes (forty-nine pages in all), a helpful, thorough, and up-to-date bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and a brief index.--Roman T. Ciapalo, Loras College.