Thesis advisor: David M. Rasmussen* / Thesis advisor: Oliva Blanchette / The French philosopher Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973) was deeply influenced by the classical tradition of American philosophy. Marcel's first essays focused upon the philosophy of Josiah Royce (1855-1916). Royce impressed Marcel due to his ability to engage in bold, imaginative construction and yet remain "faithful to the empirical tradition, which he deepened and enriched...." Marcel was also deeply influenced by William Ernest Hocking's (1873-1966) major work, The Meaning of God in Human Experience which, for Marcel, not only reaffirmed the religious dimension of human experience but also served as "an advance in the direction of that metaphysical realism toward which I resolutely tended." Lastly, Marcel conducted a sustained personal and philosophical relationship with Henry G. Bugbee Jr. (1915-1999) of the University of Montana. Marcel first met Bugbee at Harvard University while delivering the William James Lectures in 1961. Willard Van Orman Quine described Bugbee as "the ultimate exemplar of the examined life" and Calvin Schrag described him as "one of the more marginalized philosophers in America." Part I consists of a comprehensive examination of Marcel's philosophy, focusing upon the manner in which his thought exhibits a strong sense of "ontological continuity" - establishing a fundamental relationship between human being and the ontological. According to Marcel "Finite thought is continually attracted by a beyond, by Another, which eternally escapes it." Part I will be followed by three sections (Parts II-IV) devoted to the relationship between Marcel and the thought of Royce, Hocking, and Bugbee respectively. The relationship between Marcel and these philosophers is based largely upon their mutual critique of abstract thinking and a shared belief in the existence of a decisive connection between human being and Being. The thesis will conclude with Part V, entitled "The Religious Dimension of Experience," which depicts the manner in which a select cadre of American philosophers has been successful in drawing out the philosophical implications of Marcel's project. As Marcel indicated, "Perhaps the most important task on the plane of speculation is to deepen once again the notion of life itself in the light of the highest and most genuine religious thought." / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.