Distinction by Marion between Idol and Icon and the Question of Hermeneutics

The article first outlines the development by Marion of distinction between idol and icon, starting with the early period, which was dominated by the issue of the transcendence of God, and continuing to the latter period, which was marked by his conception of a new understanding of phenomenology. Saturated phenomena, which now include idol and icon as two paradigms of phenomenality, play key roles in his phenomenology of the given. Yet the status of the subject as the receiver of revelation by idol and icon is the basic problem of Marion's phenomenology and opens the question of hermeneutics. In contrast to the view of Marion that a hermeneutical explanation occurs after a phenomenon is given and that hermeneutics plays only a secondary role, the article defends the importance of prior hermeneutical openness, which Marion links to the moment of decision and which responds in a positive way to a transcendental revelation of icon and idol.