Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed

Guides for the Perplexed

by Steven Earnshaw

Existentialism is often studied by students with little or no background in philosophy; either as an introduction to the idea of studying philosophy or as part of a literary course. Although it is often an attractive topic for students interested in thinking about questions of 'self' or 'being', it also requires them to study difficult thinkers and texts. This Guide for the Perplexed begins with the question of 'What is Existentialism?' and then moves on to provide a brief analysis of the key thinkers, writers and texts - both philosophical and literary - central to existentialism. Chapters focus particularly on Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre and Camus but also discuss other philosophers and writers such as Nietzsche, Dostoevsky and Kafka. The second section of the Guide introduces key topics associated with existentialist thought; Self, Consciousness, the question of God and Commitment. Each chapter explains the concepts and debates and provides guidance on reading and analysing the philosophical and literary texts addressed, focusing throughout on clarifying the areas students find most difficult

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing this book did was leave me a little more perplexed. It is a sad state of affairs for philosophy when the only thing Philosophy professors have to write about is summing up what past great thinkers wrote and thought and add no more clarity. This book did help introduce some of the basic concepts of existentialism. It can be summed up as thus: who cares about grand abstract concepts of truth when reality is all filtered through individual experience. The quest for ultimate universal truths is not as important to an individual as trying to answer the basic questions of their existence like what is my purpose? Is there a purpose? Is life worth living? Is everything just random? Meaningless? or absurd? Depending on which Existentialist philosopher you ask you will get a different answer. Kierkegaard believes that the ultimate purpose is reunification with God through the loss of self, Heidegger believes that our person is to realize our "authentic" self, the true self behind the projected and created ego and self-image, Sartre contends that consciousness is like sight, we can't see our eyes seeing, but we can see a reflection of our eyes. The same is true of consciousness we can't be aware of the thing behind it but we can often see it reflected through certain experiences. Albert Camus goes on to advocate an acceptance of the absurdity of life, that there is no sense to life and that we should accept it as such and continue to live bravely. The short-coming of existentialism appears to be it inability to relate to others and to society. With the focus being entirely on the self it is difficult to make it into a workable life philosophy that an entire society could support and still maintain coherence.

[Glen Van Muylem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise, short. Perfect.

[Dylan Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough and in-depth understanding of everything that is needed to comprehend the broad scope of the existentialist movement. It assists greatly in simplification by breaking down topics both by authors and by core ideas, as well as covering them all in a comprehensive introduction. This guide as a whole makes existentialism much easier to understand, and I would definitely recommend for any newcomers to the movement.

[Drew Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little overview of Existentialism, but I think i may be at the point that this is too much of an introduction to keep my interest maintained.

[Gregory Mcdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like Mr. Earnshaw gave it his best shot,but in the end apart from the basics about emphasis on the individual/subjective,and accepting responsibility for one's life and choices(both aspects of which I was familiar with going in) I remain more than a bit perplexed.

[Ridley Maclean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really like this book -- explains a lot of what I have been wondering about, all in one place. I'm not done yet, though, so we'll see if it lives up to its beginning...

[Mavaddat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good guide on existentialism. Author understands Kierkegaard, Sartre. I prefer Kaufman's introduction.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes. It appeared at the beginning that this would offer me an understandable explanation of Existentialism but it just got more complex and I ended up just about as perplexed as before. Its early explanation did help but it was never really reinforced for me.