PHIL304: Existentialism

Read this overview of existentialism. As you read, consider how existentialists view essence, freedom, and authenticity. Also, consider the origins and evolution of existential thought throughout history. Can you imagine these prominent existential figures conversing with one another across time, space, and place? Noting the sections "existentialism in psychotherapy" and "popular existentialism", have you unwittingly engaged in existential thought without realizing it? What was the outcome of these endeavors – did it leave you with more questions?

Watch this video. Consider how existentialism, as a philosophy, is frequently fraught with confusion about its very definition. How have politics, cultural biases, and misinformation contributed to the fragmentation and underutilization of existential themes? How can we emphasize the importance of existential theory not only for the discipline of philosophy but also for everyday life?

Consider the links between various philosophers while you watch this video. Consider some of the major existential questions they sought to answer. What role do religion and science have in existential thought? How could engaging in existential contemplation aid in developing your life potential? What role does it have in your pleasure or unhappiness?

Read this article about Soren Kierkegaard. Do you think Kierkegaard's personal life informed his approach to philosophizing and considerations of existentialism? Do you believe his philosophy would have been different if the circumstances of his life had been different?

Watch this video. How does Kierkegaard explain anxiety and angst? Do you notice traces of his ideas in how we perform and conceptualize psychology in today's society? Pay attention to Kierkegaard's popular ideas on the "leap of faith" and the three phases of life (aesthetic, ethical, religious). Do you think his ideas are too far-fetched? Do you believe his emphasis on emotion and choice, rather than logic or scientific research, is effective?

Listen to this lecture on the life and philosophy of Kierkegaard. Why does Kierkegaard believe there is a crisis with religion? What is the cure? Do you think this is relevant to today's cultural sentiments about religion?

Kierkegaard wanted to understand how humans can live an authentically-religious life while they are surrounded by those who are inauthentically religious. He opposed any philosophy that relies on reason and science to make life easier and make Christendom more palatable. In this context, "Christendom" did not refer to Christianity alone but to the official Church of Denmark, which had merged with Danish cultural society. His duty was to inform his fellow citizens that Christendom was giving "lip service" to original Christian theology and that Christianity in Denmark had become shallow.

Kierkegaard's critique of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), a popular philosopher in Denmark, provided fodder for his analysis of Christendom. Hegel believed he could explain all of reality, including religions such as Christianity, through a philosophical or conceptual system. Hegel's logical approach reduced God to the understandable, which God is not, according to Kierkegaard.

Kierkegaard mocked Hegel's assertions by demonstrating plenty of things in the world that philosophy cannot explain. Kierkegaard feared that Hegel's devotion to systems or masses would negate the individual – he argued that subjectivity is far superior to abstract, systemic theories. For example, he suggested that we cannot easily grasp the concept of "faith" through some universal, objective theorizing. Individuals would understand faith better through actual, subjective living experiences.

Using similar logic, Blaise Pascal suggested that humans have more to gain by believing in God, even though God is entirely beyond our understanding. According to Pascal, faith is not "a given": we do not inherit faith from tradition or social norms. Rather, faith is entirely an individualized commitment. Individuals cannot shrink from faith: "you must choose". The wager is your life, and only the individual can make this gamble. Consequently, existential choice is at the core of Pascal's wager about God's existence.

For Kierkegaard, religious belief is an outrage to reason because it demands a belief in the absurd. Most Christians are in despair; they are in the wrong relationship with themselves but do not know it. They run from themselves in various ways – in pursuit of philosophy, science, and the crowd (the church community) – which all facilitate the individual's escape. Kierkegaard believes one should stand alone against these promoters of despair (Kierkegaard and the Crisis in Religion Part 2, 19:35).

Listen to the second part of this lecture on the life and philosophy of Kierkegaard. Do things stand out to you as you ponder your relationship with yourself, your culture, and your spirituality? Do you think Kierkegaard's solutions would work for everyone, or might he only be addressing certain segments of our global community?

Ultimately, the "wager" Pascal proposes should make the potential consequences of the choice (to believe or not to believe) clear. After you read, think about these questions. What is the worst that could happen if you choose not to believe in God, and it turns out God does exist? If God exists, why does Pascal believe we are destined to suffer in this life?

This excerpt from Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling discusses the Knight of Faith. What are the differences between the knight of faith and the knight of infinite resignation?

Watch this video, which discusses Kierkegaard's "Knight of Faith". What does Kierkegaard mean by the "teleological suspension of the ethical"? What makes Abraham a "Knight of Faith", according to Kierkegaard? When is the leap of faith necessary, according to Kierkegaard? Could you, or would you, make such a leap? Is there a place for reason and reasoned arguments within Kierkegaard's view of life?

Listen to this discussion of Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death. What is Kierkegaard's "three-step system", as discussed in the lecture? How is this system relevant to you as an existing human being? What does Kierkegaard mean when he says that "the sickness is not unto death"? Consider the distinction between authentic and inauthentic despair, according to Kierkegaard. How is despair related to the tension, in human existence, between the finite and the infinite?

Watch this film that discusses the intersections among the famous philosophers Kierkegaard, Sartre, Heidegger, and Jaspers. Does it seem like Americans received certain existentialist philosophers more favorably than others? Why do you think that was the case? What role does individualism play in uniting these philosophers in existential study? Did it perhaps contribute to their reception across the globe?

As you read Dostoevsky's biography, consider how much of his work was influenced by the ongoing social and personal hardships he experienced. Consider why he may not have wanted to be called an existential philosopher or for his works to be part of the emerging existential philosophical movement.

This passage outlines the key history of Dostoevsky's life and works. Is there anything in his biography that leaves you wondering why he chose to explore existential themes in his life? How might his story and life's work help individuals struggling with existential issues?

Read this passage from Dostoevsky's The Possessed (or, The Devils), Part II, Chapter I. Night, VII. As you are reading, consider whether nihilism threatens religious belief and existential philosophy. Do you think the fact that Dostoevsky wrote this during a time when the ideologies of existentialism, nihilism, socialism, and communism were still evolving influenced how he portrayed his characters?

Read this resource and consider the lessons it teaches about religion's social purpose and role. In connection to religion, how can people imagine liberation? Can religion generate truth for the masses?

As you watch this video, pay close attention to the Underground Man's opinion of himself. Do you think the Underground Man is as maladjusted as he makes himself out to be? Could he be experiencing a mental health condition? Why is the Underground Man unable to make the decisions that are so easy for the rest of us to make? Given what the Underground Man says about himself at the beginning of the book, how is the Underground Man in revolt against himself?

When you read this passage from The Brothers Karamazov, you will encounter this sentence:

I think if the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness.

What do you think Dostoevsky is trying to say? Why do human beings need to follow their whims? Why are the laws of reason an illusion? In this respect, Dostoevsky has a lot in common with Pascal and Kierkegaard: a suspicion of reason. Create a list of the most common philosophical features the three thinkers share.

This essay discusses Raskolnikov, the main character and protagonist in Dostoevsky's masterpiece Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov is a self-assured and reasonable creature who must confront the repercussions of his deeds. Think about Dostoevsky's anti-rationalism throughout the work and his suspicion of others who tout human reason as superior to human will. Is total freedom compatible with intellectual pride? How can reason get in the way of freedom? Or, how can reason enable freedom?

Watch this video. Do you find the existential questions that Dostoevsky grappled with relevant today? If so, in what way? How do ethical themes intersect with existential questions to present the audience who reads Dostoevsky with opportunities for dual philosophical inquiry?

Read this selection from The Brothers Karamazov. The Underground Man seems to revolt against nature as he critiques who he considers narrow-minded people and the masses. How is this so? Ultimately, Dostoevsky's Underground Man feels as if he is in a revolt against nature's laws. Consider how Dostoevsky illustrates this and other types of revolt in this work.

Read Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor, a parable that a character in Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov tells. Think about how you would answer the following questions as you read. Why is Jesus on trial? What is he accused of? List the temptations Jesus faced, according to the Grand Inquisitor. Then, sketch the main argument the Grand Inquisitor presents against Jesus. Why do you think Jesus is silent most of the time as the Grand Inquisitor speaks? How does Dostoevsky suggest that Christ's rejection of the temptations places an unbearable burden, and an unreachable ideal, on humankind? Why does Ivan, who is telling us the story of the Grand Inquisitor, reject God's absolute power?

As you read this excerpt about Nietzsche's life, consider how Nietzsche's rejection of traditional values reflected existential concerns. How is Nietzsche similar to, yet different from, the figures you have studied so far in this course?

Read this article for an overview of Nietzsche's life and works. Is there anything in his history that makes you question why he chose to spend his life exploring existential themes? How may his narrative and life's work benefit those dealing with existential crises?

As you listen to this podcast on Nietzsche by Walter Kaufmann, list the attributes of Nietzsche's Superman (or Overman). What "crisis" is the speaker referring to? How is Nietzsche's critique of traditional philosophy also a critique of religion? Pay close attention to Kaufmann's description of Nietzsche's critique of traditional theories of knowledge. According to Nietzsche, is it possible to know rationalist philosophy's "thing-in-itself"?

Watch this video to learn about Nietzsche's life. How did he apply philosophy to fill various voids in his life? Were you surprised to learn about how frequently tragedy struck his short life? What inspired him?

Read this excerpt from Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra, XXXIV. Self-Surpassing, which explores his concept of the "Will to Power". In what ways is a person's "Will to Power" simply a way they practice self-overcoming? What role does self-sacrifice play in Nietzsche’s thoughts about self-formation?

Watch the video to learn more about Nietzsche's thoughts in "The Will to Power". What in us, as humans, really wants truth? Would you be comfortable with untruth, uncertainty, or even ignorance?

Read this essay that Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1873. How are values socially constructed, according to Nietzsche? More importantly, why are they constructed in this way?

Read this article on Nietzsche's übermensch. Do you think the übermensch was meant to be Nietsche's attempt to build a shrine on which he could kneel? Can an übermensch or "ideal of strength" be a protective mask for someone like Nietzsche, who had a sensitive, passionate interior?

Read this excerpt from On the Genealogy of Morals which Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1887. Consider Nietzsche's account of how values and morals are created. According to Nietzsche, what is the origin of the concept "good"? What is the origin of the concept of "evil"? How have these concepts changed through history? What precipitated that change? Finally, how does resentment become creative? According to Nietzsche, how have the terms bad, evil, and good evolved? And how does Nietzsche predict restoring these terms to their original meaning? In other words, what must happen for this restoration to take place?

Watch this video which discusses a passage from Nietzsche's book The Gay Science. How does Nietzsche use the phrase "God is dead", and what does this statement refer to specifically? Can you explain why Nietzsche's remark about the death of God is not a theological statement – or not about religion? In what way is Nietzsche's proclamation that "we have killed [God]" a condemnation of religion, particularly a critique of those Western values passed down from Christianity? In other words, is God really dead, or are the values and commitments we derived from God's existence dead?

Watch this video, which discusses Nietzsche's famous passage, "God is dead". How does this statement relate to the Greek philosopher Plato's ideas? Do you think the statement "God is dead" leads us down a slippery path toward nihilism?

Watch this video. Consider the similarities and differences between Nietzsche and Søren Kierkegaard based on Kierkegaard's notions of the three stages of life (the aesthetic, ethical, and religious sphere), the "leap of faith", and "truth as subjectivity", as well as Nietzsche's ideas about Christianity as slave morality, the death of God, and the übermensch. According to Kierkegaard, what is the problem with how contemporary society practices Christianity? Is it even possible to be a Christian in the radical sense Kierkegaard suggests? What does Kierkegaard mean when he says Christianity is founded on a paradox? How does Kierkegaard formulate his view that individual existence is a category?

Read these excerpts from The Gay Science, which Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882. Pay special attention to "Aph. 341: The Greatest Weight". As you read, consider the following questions: If you were confronted with the question of eternal recurrence, what would you do? How is the aphorism in this reading intended to place the reader in a position to say "yes" to life?

As you read this article, consider the many different roles Du Bois played in his life. How do you think they informed his existential perspectives? Can you perceive how his legacy affects people today?

Read this excerpt from the book The Souls of Black Folk. How can you apply Du Bois' thoughts to contemporary existential issues in the 21st century? What does Du Bois mean when he says African-Americans are born with a "veil" that forces them to see themselves through the "revelations of the other world... through the eyes of others"? What does it mean to have a "double consciousness" that "yields... no true self-consciousness"?

Read this speech Du Bois delivered at a meeting of the American Negro Academy. How does believing there is a biological and sociohistorical basis for racial categorization influence existential theory? How does Du Bois' philosophy of race transform into an enduring historical, social, philosophical, and political rallying cry to oppressed people worldwide?

Take another look at this excerpt for The Souls of Black Folk and consider whether Du Bois wants us to regard double consciousness as a superpower. Is it a blessing or a curse? Could it be a combination of the two? What does Du Bois mean when he says African-Americans strive to retain the unique characteristics of their "double selves" while they "merge" their two halves into "a better and truer self" that reflects a state of "self-conscious manhood"? How can they attain this self-realization?

Read this summary of the life and work of W.E.B. Dubois. This reading includes several excerpts from his book The Souls of Black Folk. Why do you think Dubois wasn't previously recognized as an important existential philosopher? How did Booker T. Washington influence Dubois' understanding of history, despair, and social progress?

Du Bois' question "what does it feel like to be a problem?" drives to the core of meaninglessness, hopelessness, and despair. Like many existentialists before him, Du Bois dabbled with the issue of nihilism, but he focused on the existential crisis Blackness presents in an anti-Black culture. Nihilism is the view that life is meaningless and potentially not worth living. Like Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer, who came before him, Du Bois understood that nihilism and pessimism were a natural part of human existence. Like his contemporaries, he believed aesthetic art produces value and meaning for people. In the same way, we can mediate feelings of nihilism and pessimism concerning life, perhaps we can also completely overcome them through aesthetic appreciation.

The American author James Baldwin (1924–1987) was influenced by Du Bois' work. He was also a contemporary of the other existentialists we will discuss later in the course (Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre) and wanted to understand nihilism. In Letter from a Region in My Mind (1963), Baldwin explains how he perceives human beings as those who die and those who are aware they will die. What it means to be human relies on our collective experience of death, along with our collective experience of love. Racism, which causes suffering and death, makes people of color more acutely aware of this fact. Baldwin is not fueling nihilism by mentioning death. Rather, he is thinking about how difficult truths help humans discover their true selves.

Read this overview of the life and works of James Baldwin. How much do you think living abroad in Europe influenced his existential philosophy? What role does religion play in Baldwin's work?

As you read this article, try to apply the insights Dostoevsky addresses in his 19th-century Russian novels to the experience of being Black in America during the 20th century. How does the experience of living in an anti-Black culture create feelings of pessimism and nihilism? What are some parallels that Dostoevsky and Black writers, such as Baldwin, experience during their existential musings?

Read this entry on the life and work of Martin Heidegger. How do you think Heidegger's work influenced the history of philosophy and society at large? Many describe him as one of the most important European philosophers of the last century, yet he was also a Nazi. How do you think this happened?

As you watch this lecture, pay attention to where Heidegger "picked up" the study of being. How did Heidegger's study of being differ from his predecessors? How would Heidegger help us address the question of authenticity and the meaning of our existence?

Watch this lecture and consider the points of divergence between Heidegger and Nietzsche on various existential themes. Why does Heidegger believe the theories of Descartes and Plato are inadequate for helping us answer the question of being?

Read this article about Heidegger. Who are some of his philosophical influences? What other popular philosophical movements (such as Marxism or cultural philosophy) influenced Heidegger's existential philosophy?

Watch this video. Consider Heidegger's perspectives on coping and survival. What is Heidegger's main issue with the philosophy of René Descartes? According to Heidegger, how is René Descartes' philosophy doomed from the start? What does Heidegger suggest as a starting point for any philosophical investigation?

While you view this video, pay special attention to the description of how Heidegger claims that we avoid thinking about our own death in our everyday lives. How is our avoidance of thinking about our own death related to what Heidegger calls authenticity and inauthenticity? When are we at our most inauthentic, according to Heidegger?

This article gives an overview of Heidegger's concept of "sense". Do you agree that it's not obvious that the question of "being" should be asked in terms of the word "sense"? How might assuming that the many senses of being can actually be organized around one focal sense limit our existential understanding of being?

Read this article and consider what Heidegger means by "care". How is Heidegger's notion of care different from how we usually understand the concept of care? What role does care play in Heidegger's analysis of our own being? What about this notion of truth makes it radically different from how you might commonly think of truth?

Read this article, which explores the anti-modernism present in Heidegger's work. Do you agree that the anti-modernist movement longs for the traditions and certainties before modernity? Does this longing equate to the principles of existentialism? Do most of us wish to return to a world that no longer exists?

Read this article about Sartre's life and work. Pay attention to how Sartre uses the idea of consciousness. When do we become aware of our consciousness? In other words, when do we become self-aware?

Read this article about the work and life of Sartre. How was Sartre's attempt to reconcile existentialism with Marxism similar to, yet different from, what Heidegger attempted to do? Which of Sartre's novels do you think best expresses his existentialist philosophy?

As you watch this video, think about what consciousness has meant for previous philosophers concerning Sartre's conception of the term. What does it mean to say that consciousness is a nothingness? Compare what Sartre means by the "for-itself" and the "in-itself". Make a list of the differences between these two concepts. Also, pay special attention to Sartre's notion of bad faith. Try to adopt Sartre's view on this concept. In what ways do human beings consider themselves to be in bad faith?

As you watch this lecture, pay attention to why Sartre argues existentialism is a type of humanism. Make a list of the criticisms he received regarding existentialism. How does Sartre respond to his critics? Are the criticisms valid? Do you agree with any of them? Sartre argues that existentialism does not lead to isolationism or quietism, but rather that existentialism conceives the human subject as always in the world, with others. Pay close attention to how Sartre presents and justifies this argument.

Watch this lecture. Do you think Sartre believes we are responsible for who we are? What else are we responsible for? Do you agree with Sartre's assertion that existence comes before essence? Does a distinct human nature exist?

As you watch this video, consider the role existential themes play in culpability and responsibility. What do Sartre's existential themes of freedom, commitment, despair, and choice mean in the context of self-identity? What does he mean when he says "being is slavery, nothingness is freedom"? Is Sartre's philosophy nihilistic or pessimistic?

Watch the video and consider how Sartre's passion for writing and literature may have informed his existential philosophy, particularly his concept of authenticity. Which of the plays listed in the article most contributed to his concept of authenticity? Do you think his willingness to be a provocative person involved in war efforts and political struggles positively influenced his existential thoughts?

Read this article. Pay special attention to how de Beauvoir's philosophy connected to previous existentialists and took existentialism into new exciting realms. How were her contributions unique to existentialism and the wider social movements developing during her time?

As you read this encyclopedia entry on de Beauvoir, pay attention to the discussion of de Beauvoir's literary fiction and how it served as a vehicle for her philosophical ideas. What is the role of the other in individual human existence? Do we have any responsibility toward the other? If so, what exactly is that responsibility? Do we have an ethical responsibility to acknowledge and act on this responsibility?

Watch this video about de Beauvoir's life and works. Was there anything that surprised you about her life and career trajectory? What aspects of de Beauvoir's life and career would make you classify her as an existential philosopher?

As you watch this video, pay attention to the role ethics plays in existential theory. How does de Beauvoir frame her ethical existential critique? What are the strengths and weaknesses of de Beauvoir's characterization of ambiguity and how she uses it in her argument? How does ambiguity characterize human existence, according to de Beauvoir?

As you read this overview of de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, pay close attention to the historical story she gives about the development of woman as "the other" of man. What is an abstract concept, according to de Beauvoir? How is woman an abstract concept? Also, consider how, according to Sartre and de Beauvoir, no one is born with a predetermined essence: You become who you are. What does de Beauvoir mean when she suggests that a person is not born a woman but becomes one?

The French West Indian philosopher and psychiatrist Franz Fanon (1925–1961) was a fierce critic of colonialism and the violence that came with it. He condemned physical and conceptual violence, including how many use language to oppress, marginalize, and hurt others. Consider the differences and similarities between Fanon and de Beauvoir. In what ways does de Beauvoir's existentialism encourage or lead to revolutionary action?

Watch this lecture on the life and works of Albert Camus. Pay special attention to the breadth of his life and work. Why is Camus critical of the existentialists as a group of philosophers and the term existentialism itself?

Read this biography about Camus, and consider how his career trajectory may have influenced the types of projects he sought and the things he did with his life. Do you think he practiced what he was writing about?

As you listen to this lecture about Camus' life and work, consider what makes existence absurd. How can people overcome it? What are the consequences of Camus' thoughts about living and dying in terms of the purpose of our lives? Considering the many ways we battle the absurdity of life, why does Camus believe suicide is not an option? According to Camus, what has Sisyphus done that sets an example for us all?

Watch this video about the Myth of Sisyphus and consider how the story of Sisyphus relates to some of the major themes in Camus' work related to the absurd, meaning, and existentialism.

As you read the article, consider how Camus' philosophy of absurdism relates to our study of existentialism and previous philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard. According to Camus, what attitudes should we have toward life concerning absurdism? How does confronting the absurdity in life give us reasons to keep going?

Watch this video below and consider your responses to some of the questions Camus asked. Do you agree that all humans are born with the same human essence and that we all wish to find meaning?

Watch this discussion about the book The Stranger. Do you think Camus is right when he says that most human life consists of irrational relationships, decisions, and actions? Do you think Meursault was not simply an emotionally-inept, socially-incompetent psychopath? Perhaps he represents what it means to live a life in full view of its utter lack of meaning. Do you think passivity is an acceptable way of experiencing life and treating others?