I’ve recently become interested in existentialism. So far, I’ve limited my readings on the subject to choice encyclopedia articles and existentialist fiction. Now, I’m looking for suggestions on what to read next. I am seeking something straight-forward that addresses what existentialism has to offer, what it does not have to offer, and where to look to fill its gaps. I would much appreciate any help that you all could give me. Thanks!
-Jonathan
kierkegaard for beginners -palmer
-Imp
[/i]An Introduction To Existentialism[i] Robert G. Olson
Dover Publications Inc.
180 Varick Street
New York, N.Y. 10014
Copy right 1962[/i]
A Nietzsche Reader by Hollingdale.
The Philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre by Cumming.
A Kierkegaard Anthology by Bretall.
The Ethics of an Immoralist by Berkowitz.
Birth, Death, and The Meaning of Life by Nagel.
Nietzsche really is the best place to start if you’re trying to really get a grasp of what existentialism is about. Other “early” psychology is a good background for this stuff: Freud, Kierkegaard, etc. Remember that almost all of these “existentialists” (it’s not really a very descriptive term!) are doing a social critique of existing political and psychological “machines”, not only of religious belief and (good and bad) faith, but also of our everyday patterns of existence.
This is what Sartre, above all, wants to know: why is it so easy for us to lie to ourselves, to make excuses and evade our responsibility? To understand his answer, you don’t necessarily need the philosophical and political background. But you might as well know that Sartre, like a lot of thinkers this century, works so much from Marx it’s not a bad idea to have a grasp of some of his main ideas–surplus value, ideology, etc.
But most important is how much distance has been covered since Marx and the various directions social critique has moved in since then. Gilles Deleuze, for example, subsumes Marxian and Freudian socio-political analyses under a Nietzschean critique. Michel Foucault writes a great book about the evolution of the prison system and the violently autocratic “socialization-machines” that convince us to ‘go with the flow’… But existentialism, if you go with Sartre, is of course about choice. Really, asking an existentialist for reading advice should invite (not scorn hopefully but) at least a turning back around of the question. What do you want to read about?
Nietzsche’s my fave, and I’m looking forward to trying some Kierkegaard, but as you said Sartre, I’d recommend his ‘Nausea’. It’s a philosophical novel so can serve as an easy-going intro to existentialism. Then, if you dare, try his Being and Nothingness. But if you’re reading that level of text, I’d recommend Heidegger’s Being and Time over B&N. It inspired Sartre’s B & N, which can been seen as a gross misinterpretation of Heidegger’s B&T.
Dostoyevsky’s 4 major works, Crime & Punishment, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov and The Possessed are philosophy woven through the most engaging fiction I’ve ever read. The best and most thorough secondary work on Nietszche is by Richard Schacht, called “Nietszche”. There are a few novels incorporating Nietszche, one called “While Nietszche Wept”. The fundamental premise of existentialism, if it has one, that “existence precedes essence”, is first, an empirical claim, belonging to psychology, and worse yet, false, since it denies we have an innate human nature. Look to cognitive science if human nature interests you.
Just reaching the last 100 pages of maybe the best book I’ve ever read. The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
ilovephilosophy.com/phpbb/vi … tentialism
I still recommend the book on existential phenomenology I recommended here.
I’m not sure if I should suggest this or not but it was influential on Sartre’s existentialism.
Here’s some lecture notes to Being and Time