# Existentialism (MOC) Created On: 12-23-2024 05:13 pm Up:: [[Philosophy (MOC)]] Tags:: #map/nest --- >[!abstract] Salient Summary > - [[Søren Kierkegaard]] is considered the father of existentialism as represented through these foundational works > - [[Either/Or (Book)]] > - [[Fear and Trembling (Book)]] > - [[The Concept of Anxiety (Book)]] > - [[The Sickness Unto Death (Book)]] > - *Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments* > - There are two main branches of Existentialism: Christian/Religious and Atheistic > - [[Søren Kierkegaard]] lays the Christian influence, but later Existentialists, like [[Albert Camus]] and [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], take up an atheistic branch > - ## Introduction ## Nested MOCs - [[Subjectivism (MOC)]] - the belief that knowledge (and experience?) is purely subjective and that there is no external or objective truth in our world ## Loose Notes *These should be tossed here and cleaned up later* - [[Self-actualization]] plays a deeply relative role to existentialism: “… \[man] encounters himself, and only afterward defines himself… Man is nothing other than his own project.” - Therefore… [[Maslow's hierarchy of needs]]? - Relative literature - Pre-reading: - [[The Republic (Book)]] by [[Plato]] - [[The Five Dialogues (Book)]], namely *The Apology* by [[Plato]] - [[The Nicomachean Ethics (Book)]] by [[Aristotle]] - [[The Metaphysics (Book)]] by [[Aristotle]] - Existentialist Philosophy Foundations (in recommended order) - *[[Existentialism Is A Humanism (Book)]]* by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] - A lecture offering a concise and accessible introduction to Sartre’s existentialist philosophy - Application through [[Being and Nothingness (Book)]] - [[The Myth of Sisyphus (Book)]] by [[Albert Camus]] (1942) - A key text on absurdism, presenting the image of Sisyphus as a metaphor for life’s inherent lack of meaning. - “Fear and Trembling” by [[Søren Kierkegaard]] (1843) - A deeply religious take on existentialism, focusing on faith, individuality, and the “leap” into the absurd. - “Being and Time” by [[Martin Heidegger]] (1927) - A dense exploration of being, time, and authenticity, foundational to existential thought. - *[[Being and Nothingness (Book)]]* by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] (1943) - The cornerstone of Sartrean existentialism, exploring freedom, bad faith, and the human condition. - “The Sickness Unto Death” by [[Søren Kierkegaard]] (1849) - Explores despair and selfhood, linking existential themes to Christian theology. - Literary Classics with Existential Themes - “The Stranger” by Albert Camus (1942) - A novel that exemplifies the absurd and the alienation of the modern individual. - “Nausea” by Jean-Paul Sartre (1938) - A fictional exploration of existentialist themes like freedom, authenticity, and the experience of being. - [[Notes from Underground (Book)]] by [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] (1864) - Often considered a precursor to existentialism, it examines free will and the irrational aspects of human behavior. - [[Crime and Punishment (Book)]] by [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] (1866) - A novel addressing guilt, morality, and existential anguish - [[The Brothers Karamazov (Book)]] by [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] (1866), especially the "Grand Inquisitor" chapter, for a comprehensive philosophical experience. - “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” by Friedrich Nietzsche (1883–1885) - A philosophical novel presenting Nietzsche’s ideas on the Übermensch, eternal recurrence, and the death of God ## Related - [[Write A Book - Project]]