PHIL 224.001 – Existential Philosophy and the Meaning(lessness) of Life

Instructor: Ben Schwartz. This course meets MTWRF 1:15 – 2:45 p.m. via remote synchronous (RS) instruction.

In this course, we will explore many of the key philosophical ideas and views of the existentialist movement. To do so, we will survey some core writings of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, De Beauvoir, and Camus, as well as existentialist-themed literary works by Dostoyevsky and Kafka. We will examine these thinkers’ views on issues that are central to the modern human condition, including freedom, responsibility, morality and values, death, and the meaning of life.