1st Edition

Existentialism: A Philosophical Inquiry

By Joel Smith Copyright 2022
266 Pages
by Routledge

266 Pages
by Routledge

266 Pages
by Routledge

Existentialism asks some of the most fundamental questions about human existence: What gives our lives meaning and value? What is it to choose freely? How do I live an authentic life? How should I relate to myself and to others? In this book Joel Smith introduces and assesses the arguments and controversies surrounding these questions in an engaging way, providing a superb introduction to this... Read more

Preface

1. Life

2. Subjectivity

3. Meaning

4. Freedom

5. Angst

6. Bad Faith

7. Alienation

8. Gender

9. Race

10. Authenticity

11. Conclusion.

Bibliography

Index

Biography

Joel Smith is Senior Lecturer in philosophy at the University of Manchester, UK. He is co-editor, with Peter Sullivan, of Transcendental Philosophy and Naturalism (2011) and, with Catherine Abell of The Expression of Emotion (2014). He is the author of Experiencing Phenomenology: An Introduction (Routledge, 2016).

"This is an excellent introduction to existentialism. Smith does an admirable job categorizing and clarifying the core traits of the existentialists without imposing an overly strict definition of what does and doesn’t qualify. Giving more of a voice to Fanon’s contributions, with a whole chapter on race, is another of the book’s real virtues: it makes the subject more obviously relevant to our particular moment. In sum, this is a fantastic book, which has given me some great advice about how I can guide my students through the topic more successfully." – Ryan Kemp, Wheaton College, USA