Abstract

SZALAY, Mátyás. Marriage as Temporal Experience. Sacramental versus Contractual Constitution of the Meaning of the Spousal Community. Rev. filos.open insight [online]. 2020, vol.11, n.23, pp.35-56.  Epub Aug 30, 2020. ISSN 2395-8936.  https://doi.org/10.23924/oi.v11i23.430.

Within a Christian context, the sacred meaning of temporality is clearly exemplified by marital life. It is possible to argue on both the theological and philosophical levels that reflecting on marriage —the strongest and highest interhuman relationship— can provide us with essential insights into how the experience of temporality is interpersonally co-constituted.

I will offer a brief phenomenological analysis of the temporal experience of marital life by elaborating on the differences between the secular and sacred perspectives on the past, present and future. The aim of these paper is to find a way to interpret the experience of temporality that is shaped by marriage, i.e., co-constituted by the relationship with the beloved, in order to unify the fragmented life.

Keywords : marriage; phenomenology; relationality; sacramental logic; temporality..