A comparative study of the philosophies of Jesse Williams and Gabriel Marcel.

Abstract

The problems of this study were (1) to describe the educational theory of Jesse Feiring Williams found in The Principles of Physical Education, (2) to describe the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel found in his work, The Mystery of Being, and (3) to indicate the relation,hips, if any, between the ideas of Williams and Marcel. In pursuing a comparative study, a thorough knowledge of the philosophies of both Jesse Williams and Gabriel Marcel were of extreme importance. The three steps taken to prepare this study were enumerated and explained in the following sequence: (1) the study of the two major works cited previously, (2) the reading of additional references, and (3) the comparison of Williams and Marcel. The primary philosophical conclusions were that Williams and Marcel both realized the totality of man and considered the mind inseparable from the body. Williams relied upon scientific fact and emphasized the needs of man as being physical, mental, and social in nature. Marcel, however, emphasized the role of secondary reflection in resolving the transcendent and intersubjective needs of mankind, per se. Finally, Williams' biological man and man-in-society, presupposed, in part, the more fundamental question of Marcel, What is man?