Existentialism

[Fever]

I just Finished The Stranger written by french philosipher Camus. I would like to know what you think about existentialism and this book.

[Felicia]

I haven't read it. But I'm getting "being and nothingness" by Sartre (it's nearly 900 pages! :o ) . I hear it's a masterpiece on existentialism. I'm not one to discuss it yet, I'm not all that familiar with the concepts of it all, not til I read up on it anyway. Maybe I should get a smaller existentialist book/novel to get me started instead of so much reading from the start.....

Pete's an existentialist, he'd be the best to chat with over the book I'd imagine, quite an intellectual he is :)

[Rastafari]

One of my favorite books, for some reason. I like A. Camus because he makes me think and I consider him to be one of the best of the modern philosophers. The book is really great, and I suggest you all read it.

[Sabocat]

I love that book. How many times can you find such a short story and have it make you think so much. I refer to that book as the Existential Handbook. :P

Henry David Thoreau is also a good existential writer. Walden or Life in the Woods is another existential must read.

Thoreau once said when he was arrested and jailed during a labor uprising, when asked (by a fellow friend writer visiting him in jail) "What are you doing in there?" Thoreau answered...."What are you doing out there?"

[Rastafari]

Thoreau was great, as was Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Ralph is actually my personal god

[Ironfist]

Well I kinda liked the book, mostly because of Marseault's attitude to everything.. But Sartre was indeed much better (Behind closed doors!!).

[Nick Yves]

Excuse my ignorance, but I have heard of existentialism but I never knew what it was. Someone please explain.

[suffianr]

Existentialism is basically a philosophical school of thought. I'm not really sure about precise definitions, in most cases when it comes to existentialism, your word is as good as mine, but it generally defines an individual's right to rationalise his/her own existence, where the universe is constantly subject to re-interpretation and morality takes a greater sense of individualism; it gets more abstract the further you go.

I thought The Outsider was great, too. There's a bit of Mersault in all of us, not the disaffeted son who barely grieved at g=his mother's funeral, or the indifferrent prisoner who defies his "saviour", but the simple honest person that chose to stick to his own ideas despite the pressure from "good" people all around him. Mersault's a genuine hero, in my book.

[Nick Yves]

Hm...strange.

[elijahcraig]

I got lost in Being and Nothingness. I have read ON Sartre, and other things about the philosophy. But B and N, was just bad writing. "Not-being"etc. <_<

[Mogwai]

The Outsider is my favourite book, I have The Fall kicking around somewhere, but havnt got around to reading it yet.

[Wenty]

I have read the outsider as well as the fall. The former is better than the latter but as its Camus its all good. Sartre was a genius but Being and Nothingness is supposed to be pure verbiage almost. It obviously makes sense to him, his ideas about &#39;Bad Faith&#39; are interesting though.

If i could recommend one book it would be Camus: A study by Brian Masters. Its a bit rare these days i think but an excellent analysis of Camus work. The same author did Sartre: A study too.

[Uhuru na Umoja]

You should try reading some other Sartre. Some of his plays - such as &#39;No Exit&#39; - are a great introduction to existentialism. Sartre was also a Maoist for many years, and his political involved was one of the factors in his split with Camus.

Another interesting literary movement influenced by existentialism is absurdism. Beckett&#39;s plays such as &#39;Endgame&#39; and &#39;Waiting for Godot&#39; are masterpieces and if you&#39;re interested in existentialism you will probably find them interesting.

[suffianr]

Camus was an absurdist, too, yes?

[Wenty]

he would have hated you saying that. He disliked being constantly associated with his &#39;Philosophy of the Absurd&#39;. Supposedly anyway.

[Fever]

I love NO EXIT. My sister was actually in a production of it.

[blackemma]

I just Finished The Stranger written by french philosipher Camus. I would like to know what you think about existentialism and this book.

I read The Stranger in Grade Eleven, though I read it in French class, so it was actually l&#39;Etranger. To be honest, I wasn&#39;t impressed with the book. I find Satre a much more talented writer and would recommend him any day over Camus. I&#39;m not sure what the English version is like or if the translation presents the novel in a better light, but I had difficulty sympathizing with Meursault and found that the book was too simplistic in its presentation of existentialism.

As for the meaning of existentialism, I&#39;d say that it&#39;s complex and covers a wide school of thought, but that generally it emphasizes:

1. Free will: the idea that people are born free, cursed to be free, as Satre would say. Free will is a key component of existentialism.

2. Absurdity: the idea that there is no discernable &#39;meaning&#39; for us, that is to say people, to find. There is no God, no greater cause, no reason to even continue on with our lives. This absurdity thus induces a sense of "nausea" in people who recognize the nature of existence. Much of existentialism, including l&#39;Etranger deals with this fundamental dilemna of human existence.

3. Responsibility: the idea that personal responsibility is an extension of free will and that people, in the face of meaninglessness, must determine their own meaning. For this reason, existentialists have differed on what meaning one should give one&#39;s life. Some existentialists have suggested Marxism renders exisentialism as irrelevent as it presents the notion of history and its continuing cycles as an alternative to existential nothingness. Other existentialists have suggested Christianity as an alternative to existentialist-induced nausea, despite recognizing that all religion is hollow. No matter their suggested meaning, however, nearly all existentialists agree that resposibility rests within the individual&#39;s perception of reality and that individuals exist principally as a series of choices, again emphasizing free will, and not as a constant being which has a &#39;soul&#39; or some other metaphysical concept. Thus, total freedom is given to the individual who, in reality, ceases to be an individual and instead the aforementioned series of choices.

Well, that&#39;s my attempt at existentialism. In all honesty, I think existentialism and Marxism are incompatible and that one must cancel the other out. Both are equally valid ways of looking at the world, but I think one must choose one or the other as I believe the two philosophies contradict each other to frequently to be merged into one coherent philosophy.