Existentialism: A Guide for the PerplexedExistentialism is often studied by students with little or no background in philosophy; either as an introduction to the idea of studying philosophy or as part of a literary course. Although it is often an attractive topic for students interested in thinking about questions of 'self' or 'being', it also requires them to study difficult thinkers and texts. This Guide for the Perplexed begins with the question of 'What is Existentialism?' and then moves on to provide a brief analysis of the key thinkers, writers and texts - both philosophical and literary - central to existentialism. Chapters focus particularly on Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre and Camus but also discuss other philosophers and writers such as Nietzsche, Dostoevsky and Kafka. The second section of the Guide introduces key topics associated with existentialist thought; Self, Consciousness, the question of God and Commitment. Each chapter explains the concepts and debates and provides guidance on reading and analysing the philosophical and literary texts addressed, focusing throughout on clarifying the areas students find most difficult |
Contents
What is Existentialism? | 1 |
Thinkers | 29 |
Kierkegaard | 31 |
Nietzsche | 46 |
Heidegger | 59 |
Sartre | 74 |
Camus | 94 |
Themes | 109 |
Being and Self | 113 |
Phenomenology and Consciousness | 127 |
God and Nothingness | 141 |
Freedom Ethics and Commitment | 154 |
And now ? | 169 |
Further Reading | 171 |
Bibliography | 175 |
| 181 | |
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Common terms and phrases
absurd accept aesthetic anxiety appear argues argument authentic awakening aware Beauvoir become Being-in-the-world Camus Camus's choice choose Christian Climacus commitment concept Concluding Unscientific Postscript constitutes Crime and Punishment Dasein death discussion Dostoevsky Either/Or emotion entity eternal everything evil existence Existential ideas Existential thought Existentialism and Humanism Existentialist Existentialist thought experience fact Fear and Trembling for-itself freedom Gay Science Golden Notebook guilt Heidegger and Sartre Heidegger's Husserl imaging consciousness in-itself inauthentic individual individual's interest Kierkegaard kind leap of faith live Marxism meaning metaphysical Meursault morality murder Myth of Sisyphus Nausea ness Nietzsche Nietzsche's nothingness notion novel object ontological overman particular perhaps phenomenology Philosophical Fragments philosophy possibility present-at-hand psychological question Raskolnikov reader regarded relation religious Sartre's Sartrean sciousness seen sense social Stages on Life's Steven Earnshaw structure subjective suggest thing thinkers thinking tion truth understanding understood writing Zarathustra