Abstract

Thomas Anderson has argued that the philosophies of Kierkegaard and Marcel are mutually exclusive. He explains that although Kierkegaard and Marcel have much in common, their two paths are ultimately “fundamentally irreconcilable.” Although an ecumenical interpretation of these philosophers is rejected by Anderson, the following article attempts to challenge this view, and provide further reflection upon their approach to God. It undertakes a more detailed analysis of their supposed opposition, and defends the view that their differences are, in fact, typically misunderstood, exaggerated, or both, and that the judgment of mutual exclusivity is at very least not well founded, if not a misunderstanding of the common themes in both philosophers. The article explores the view that Kierkegaard and Marcel‟s philosophies can, in the end, be reconciled in a fruitful way.