Richard Oxenberg gives a poetic introduction to Heidegger’s Being and Time. so much depends upona red wheelbarrowglazed with rainwaterbeside the white chickens William Carlos Williams In order to appreciate Heidegger’s thought it is necessary to see it in relation to the Western metaphysical tradition from which it has emerged. This would be true, of course, …
Dan Sinykin says that Kierkegaard is worried about you. Preface: For the love of God, consider this a primer, a warm-up, a teaser, but certainly not a substitute for the work analyzed within. One is a ragtag attempt at accessible jottings about the other, which is a timeless masterpiece on the human condition. You can …
We Have Spirit, Yes We Do! We Have Spirit, How ‘Bout You? Read More »
Ion Georgiou explains the literary theories of a man who loved words. “A writer writes to a great extent to be read (as for those who say they don’t, let us admire them but not believe them).” Albert Camus It has been said of Monsieur Sartre – and it remains undoubtedly true – that the …
Jonathan Rée on Søren Kierkegaard and the struggle to become a real thinker. I am not a Christian, but in some ways I wish I was. Of course Christianity can be tiresome (as all Christians would agree) but it can also be fresh and crisply intelligent. And I find it hard to resist Christianity as …
Matthew Coniam on Colin Wilson. Colin Wilson, who is seventy this year, is a name familiar to many as a popular writer on a bewildering variety of topics: crime and deviancy, paranormalism, archaeology and alien abduction to name just a few that have commanded his attention most recently. Older readers may remember him as the …
More than any other recent philosophical movement, the existentialists communicated their ideas through plays, novels and short stories. Peter Rickman asks: why did existentialism resort to literary expression? Jean-Paul Sartre was a professional philosopher who taught the subject and wrote substantial works on it. However he also wrote, and is widely known for, novels, short …
Kile Jones argues that atheistic existentialism is more compelling than religious existentialism. Existentialism, as I understand it, is primarily a philosophy of tragedy. It often speaks of tragedy as bound up with existence – that you cannot have one without the other. Tragedy Before the rise of German, and in turn French, existentialism, tragedy was …
Alex Holzman asks what a hero is, and if Camus’ infamous character qualifies. Heroics lie near the heart of both literary and historical culture. Something about the ‘greatness’ of heroes lends context to and brings to vivid life the events in which they took part and often come to represent. They are anchors in the …
Anja Steinbauer on Simone de Beauvoir’s Ethics of Ambiguity. “My life is my work,” Simone de Beauvoir once said. Spoken like a true Existentialist: to her, life and thought were inextricably linked; we are what we do. Existentialism is a philosophy that outlines the conditions of human existence but rejects any conception of human nature; …
Greg Stone presents the evidence. When Johnny Depp raises a wry eyebrow on screen, it’s an ‘existential performance’. When Donald Rumsfeld says there are ‘unknown unknowns’, they call it ‘existential poetry’. Though many politicians and entertainers welcome the label, Albert Camus certainly did not. Even so, many people, even in academic publications, have inaccurately identified …