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.

About the Author
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.

Reviews
The author has drawn us deeper by degrees into an experience of presence as we move from one section to the next. His hope is that by exploring theological and philosophical traditions and the best of modern literature, the dread and boundary situations of life can be balanced by experiences of joy through an ontological intuition of 'presence.' It may be the only book of its kind and is highly recommended as a means to re-explore a lasting theme that is often neglected. -- James C. Harris MLN A beautifully written apologia for an ineffable or indefinable topic. -- Christian Frothingham Anglican Theological Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780801884870
Author Ralph Harper
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 386g