Existentialism in Philosophy and Literature

Existentialism is unique in the Western philosophical tradition in that many of its central thinkers wrote in the narrative form in addition to the conventional philosophical form. Most closely associated with the French philosophers Sartre, Camus, and de Beauvoir, the evolution of existentialism can be traced through earlier works by Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. The fundamental concern that links these thinkers is whether human existence can have any meaning, and, if so, how. This course will examine, through their works, the existentialist themes of authenticity, absurdity, transcendence, self-deception, alienation, truth, choice, freedom, value, and death.