Kłysiak, Krzysztof (Wydawnictwo Towarzystwa Naukowego Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego, 1988)
The basic difference in the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel is the difference between "to be" and "to have", between authentic and degraded existence. A person's openness to hope depends on his or her ontological level at which he or she exists. Authentic existence leads to absolute hope ("l’esperence"), expressed by the statement: "I hope". Degraded existence leads to a deprived hope ("l’espoir") which is in fact a calculation and counting on one's chances. It is expressed by the statement: "I hope that". This hope is unable to save man from despair which despair has its source in being at the level of "to have". The relation between being and hope, and between possession and despair is irreversible. When a man lives in hope, he has an access to the fuller being, but when he wallows in despair he slides into nonexistence.
