if Existence precedes Essence

Marcel therefore develops the view that human beings are fundamentally beings-in-situations first, and then thinking or reflective beings second. Yet, in developing a critique of the obsession with primary reflection (with the world of “having”), he is not advocating any kind of relativism, or even suggesting that conceptual knowledge is not important; his aim is to illustrate where it fits into the analysis of the human subject, and to point out that it is important not to overstate its range or its value. In presenting these themes, Marcel wishes to do justice to, and to maintain the priority of, human subjectivity and individuality while at the same time avoiding the relativism and skepticism that has tended to accompany such notions. In this way, many of his admirers believe that he avoids the relativistic and skeptical excesses that have plagued recent European thought since Heidegger and Sartre.

this body also is me, it is what I am. On the other hand, it cannot be said that I simply am my body either. I can dispose of my body in certain circumstances by treating it instrumentally. A person who loses a limb in an accident is not less of a person and, therefore, there is a sense in which our bodies are objects that we have.