| Understanding Existentialism Contributor(s): Reynolds, Jack (Author) |
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ISBN: 184465043X ISBN-13: 9781844650439 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $49.39 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2006 Annotation: Jack Reynolds examines the majors texts of existentialism: Heideggerbs Being and Time, Sartre's Being and Nothingness, Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception, and de Beauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity and The Second Sex. He explores the notions of freedom, death, finitude, and mortality; phenomenological experiences and anguish, angst, nausea, boredom, and fear; authenticity and responsibility; pessimism about human relations; and rejection of any external determination of morality or value. Understanding Existentialism begins with a discussion of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Jaspers, and Marcel - existentialism's antecedents - and ends with an assessment of the movement's effect, particularly its influence on poststructuralism. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Movements - Existentialism |
| Dewey: 142.78 |
| Series: Understanding Movements in Modern Thought |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.54" W x 8.5" (0.55 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Understanding Existentialism provides an accessible introduction to existentialism by examining the major themes in the work of Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty and de Beauvoir. Paying particular attention to the key texts, Being and Time, Being and Nothingness, Phenomenology of Perception, The Ethics of Ambiguity and The Second Sex, the book explores the shared concerns and the disagreements between these major thinkers. The fundamental existential themes examined include: freedom; death, finitude and mortality; phenomenological experiences and 'moods', such as anguish, angst, nausea, boredom, and fear; an emphasis upon authenticity and responsibility as well as the denigration of their opposites (inauthenticity and Bad Faith); a pessimism concerning the tendency of individuals to become lost in the crowd and even a pessimism about human relations more generally; and a rejection of any external determination of morality or value. Finally, the book assesses the influence of these philosophers on poststructuralism, arguing that existentialism remains an extraordinarily productive school of thought. |