On The Phenomenology Of The Givenness Of Jean-Luc Marion

In this dissertation, we will undertake an interpretation on the Phenomenology of Givenness of Jean-Luc Marion, the French contemporary phenomenologist.The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters of the text and a conclusion. In the introduction, we will begin from the distinction of the proving and the showing, for the return to the thing itself, and in order to transit to the Husserlian phenomenology. By the analysis of the object, we will accede in the distinction between the transcendence and the immanence, which is the key-concept to understand Husserl's transcendental phenomenology: how to accede to the essence, through starting from the intuition of the pure consciousness as immanence. By this operation, we consider the philosophy of Marion as taking the transcendence as 'the self-showing and self-giving of the phenomenon'. Marion's research is oriented to the three domains: the history of philosophy, theology and phenomenology; but he takes, in any way, the historical investigation as his preference. Then, this dissertation shares also a particular interest to the historical research, in spite of our principal research target concentrating always to the phenomenology itself. In the first chapter, we will talk about the possibility of the first philosophy. In the history, there are three types of the "first philosophy", that is, the ousiology, the metaphysics and the subject philosophy inaugurated by Descartes, who maintains the predominant place of the knowledge. But all attempts of the old type of the "first philosophy" have failed. In contrast, the phenomenology, created by Husserl, opens a new possibility for the first philosophy; and the possibility consists of the principle of the justification of the phenomenological principle of foundation to all the things. The question of "the first philosophy" transforms then to one of the principle of the phenomenology.In refuting the old three principles of phenomenology: "so much appearing, so much Being", "return to the things themselves", "the principle of principles", Marion considers that only his fourth principle "so much reduction, so much givenness" can lay a foundation for the first philosophy. The fourth principle is proved in the third paragraph. In order to understand deeply this thought, we will enter the second chapter. At first, we will analyze the idea in general on the phenomenon, which means the phenomenon gives itself, show itself, without reason, and unpredictable. A phenomenon like that, is it just a fiction of Marion? We must enter the analysis on the examples of the gift and the drawing. In the third chapter, we will talk about the saturated phenomenon. At first, in making 'room' as an example, we will understand the phenomenon as event, not as object. Marion distinguishes the phenomena in three levels: the saturated phenomenon, the common right phenomenon and the poor phenomenon. In quoting the table of categories of Kant, Marion distinguishes four types: event, idol, flesh, and icon. In the part of conclusion, we will make a summary, and raise some critics.