Existentialism: The Basics

Existentialism: The Basics is an engaging introduction to one of the most influential philosophical movements of the twentieth century. This lively and lucid book details the existentialist vision of human being and the existentialist demand to respect human freedom.

Written by a leading expert in the field, this book examines the key themes of existentialism:

• Our existence as bodies in a material world
• The role of projects in shaping our experience
• Our freedom to change even our deepest projects
• The basis of all value in human freedom
• Seriousness and bad faith as evasions of freedom
• The mythologies and conflicts that shape our lives
• Literary writing as an essential philosophical medium

Jonathan Webber explores these themes in the work of Sartre, Beauvoir, and Fanon through comparison with the rather different existential thinkers Buber, Kafka, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Camus, Frankl, and Marcel, and analyses the influences of the Stoics, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Bergson, Husserl, Freud, Jung, and the Negritude movement on the development of existentialism.

With suggestions for primary and further reading throughout, this book offers a comprehensive grounding in existentialist philosophy and empowers readers to develop their own ideas in response.