Existentialism Freedom Being Death

AY2018/2019 Semester 1

Existentialism: Being, Freedom, Death is an introduction to the philosophical movement known as 'existentialism.' We will critically assess the central philosophical and literary works in the existentialist canon. The first half of the course focuses on the ideas of key existentialist thinkers. We examine the authors' attempts to understand the human condition with reference to three organizing themes: being (or existence), freedom, and death (or nothingness). The second half of the course focuses on the organizing themes themselves. We compare the different ways in which different existentialists approach some of the most foundational issues in philosophy. For instance: is it possible to reconcile faith in God with uncertainty about the existence of God? If God does not exist, can human existence have any meaning at all? How should we cope with the inevitability of death? Given that we are free beings, are there any standards' rational, moral, or otherwise - by which to evaluate how we ought to think, feel, and behave? Existentialists are famed for their tendency to challenge, provoke, and defy. An encounter with existentialist thought will allow students to reflect, in a very different light, on what it means to be human.