On Presence

The Reverend Ralph Harper, a philosopher and theologian, has been credited with introducing existentialism to North America in 1948 with his work Existentialism: A Theory of Man. Forty years later, Harper delved deeper into the interior life of the human imagination in On Presence: Variations and Reflections. Winner of the 1992 Grawemeyer Award in Religion, On Presence is an insightful articulation of mankind's experience of presence. Drawing from philosophers like Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Marcel, theologians like Augustine, Aquinas, and Tillich, mystics like Meister Eckhart and John of the Cross, and novelists like Dostoevsky and Proust, this compelling work considers the transcendent and religious dimensions of the ordinary mysteries in everyday life.

Ralph Harper (1916--1996) was an adjunct professor of humanities at the Johns Hopkins University and a rector of St. James Church in Monkton, Maryland. He is the author of twelve books, including The Seventh Solitude, Human Love, The World of the Thriller, The Existential Experience, and Journey from Paradise, which were published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

A Note to the Reader

vii

Introduction

1

(8)

1. Anonymous Presence

9

(12)

Anonymous Presence

9

(3)

Access to Being

12

(4)

Presence Refracted

16

(2)

Postscript

18

(3)

2. Being as Presence

21

(18)

Being as Presence

21

(4)

Reality Has Deceived Me

25

(6)

Invasions of Being:

31

(4)

A Whole Secret System of Life

31

(1)

A World of Dreams

32

(3)

Postscript

35

(4)

3. Presence and Mystery

39

(16)

Presence and Mystery

39

(6)

Presence: In Te, Domine, Speravi

45

(2)

Mystery:

47

(4)

Theophanies

47

(1)

Ordinary Mysteries and Obscure Pleasures

48

(3)

Postscript

51

(4)

4. Mystical Presence

55

(18)

Mystical Presence

55

(6)

Metaphysical Desire

61

(4)

The Ideal of Unsatisfied Desire

65

(2)

The Power of Fantasy

67

(2)

Postscript

69

(4)

5. Presence as Glory

73

(16)

Presence as Glory

73

(6)

The Glory of Hawthorns

79

(3)

Exhilaration in Autumn

82

(3)

Postscript

85

(4)

6. Living Presence

89

(16)

Living Presence

89

(4)

Withdrawal from Life:

93

(7)

A Lost Eurydice

94

(2)

Dreams of a Traveller

96

(2)

Final Crossroads

98

(2)

Postscript

100

(5)

7. Real Presence

105

(14)

Real Presence

105

(3)

Salve Regina

108

(3)

Viaticum

111

(4)

Postscript

115

(4)

8. A Secret Understanding

119

(10)

A Final Unscientific Postscript

125

(4)

Selected Bibliography

129

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Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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Rent More, Save More! Use code: BBRENTAL

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On Presence

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Digital License