Emmanuel Mounier and the Rescue of the Person

The central idea in Mounier's Personalism is based on the personal way of existing, which is the primordial form of human existence. The seven structures that make up the personal universe define this way of existing: embodied existence, communication, intimate conversion, confrontation, freedom under condition, eminent dignity and commitment. Man's existence must be conquered in the search for liberation, which does not happen suddenly, but is a process of transformation of consciousness throughout history. Liberation will come about not only through man's conscience, but also in his relationship with others, through the community, which is a Person of persons. This liberation is a commitment that implies political action centred on the rescue of the Person. This is where the theme of engagement comes into its own. Those who are engaged are open to travelling to the bottom of the action, linking their practice to an incarnate and concrete meditation through the witness of life. And in the situations in which we find ourselves, only a personalist and community revolution can guarantee the rescue of the Person, assuming the options for life. And here, option means taking a commitment seriously and committing to it.