Philosophy 395: Existentialism
Fall 1999
NSTRUCTOR: John Nolt OFFICE PHONE: 974-7218
OFFICE: 818 McClung Tower HOME PHONE: 573-4135
OFFICE HOURS: 1:15-2:15 p.m. MWF, and by appointment E-MAIL: nolt@utk.edu
TEXTS: Robert Bretall, A Kierkegaard Anthology
Walter Kaufmann, The Portable Nietzsche
Martin Heidegger, Being & Time, Stambaugh translation (on reserve in the library)
Jean-Paul Sartre, Essays in Existentialism
ABOUT THE COURSE: Existentialism is the attempt, increasingly prominent in modern Western thought, to make philosophical sense of life in an apparently absurd or meaningless world. Western thought traditionally assumes that the familiar, finite world is suffused with fixed and well-defined meanings, supplied by God, Nature, Reason, Society or the some other familiar source. But existentialists, even those who believe in God (many do not), deny that there are such meanings in the familiar and finite world. Existentialism is the effort to discover how to live in such a situation. Existentialist writings are often dense and difficult, but worth the effort. Expect to have to read assignments several times over.
WARNING: Ideas have power, and among philosophies existentialism is one of the most powerful. You cannot fully understand it without questioning all your beliefs and giving yourself over to shattering anxiety—without journeying long in darkness. But this is NOT what I expect of you in this course. To do well in this course, you need only to understand and be able to explain existentialism intellectually, not live it. Yet at some time in your life you may find yourself swept into the existential journey; and, though this journey can only be made alone, it may help to know that others have made it before you and can describe some of the terrain through which it passes.
GRADES: Grades will be based on two essay tests (a midterm and a final exam) and a final term paper of about ten pages. Refer to the handout "How to Write a Philosophy Paper" for details.
COURSE CALENDAR: The following course calendar is tentative, but probably we will follow it fairly closely. Readings should be completed by the date listed.
|
Date |
Topic |
Reading Assignment |
|
8/26 |
Introduction |
— |
|
8/31 |
The ethical and the aesthetic |
"Equilibrium," Kierkegaard Anthology, pp. 97-108 |
|
9/2 |
Kierkegaard: Infinite resignation, the leap of faith, teleological suspension of the ethical |
"Fear and Trembling" and excerpt from the journal, Kierkegaard Anthology, pp. 116-134 and pp. 14-18 |
|
9/7 |
Kierkegaard: despair |
"The Sickness unto Death," Kierkegaard Anthology, pp. 339-344 |
|
9/9 |
Kierkegaard: forms of despair |
"The Sickness unto Death," Kierkegaard Anthology, pp. 345-371 |
|
9/14 |
Kierkegaard: the attack upon Christendom |
"The Attack upon Christendom," Kierkegaard Anthology, pp. 434-468 |
|
Date |
Topic |
Reading Assignment |
|
9/16 |
Nietzsche: antirealism in metaphysics and morality |
Twilight of the Idols : "Reason in Philosophy," "How the True World Became a Fable," "Morality as Anti-Nature," Portable Nietzsche, pp. 479-492. |
|
9/21 |
Nietzsche: power as the fundamental value, Christianity as a nihilistic religion of the weak, genesis of Christianity |
Antichrist , 1-27, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 565-598 |
|
9/23 |
Nietzsche: the psychology of Jesus, further developments in the history of Christianity, psychology of the priest |
Antichrist , 28-62, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 598-656 |
|
9/28 |
Nietzsche: death of God; the overman and the afterworldly |
Zarathustra -Prologue, I, 1-10, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 103-137 |
|
9/30 |
Nietzsche: Nietzschean values |
Zarathustra I, 11-22, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 137-191 |
|
10/5 |
Nietzsche: more on Nietzschean values |
Zarathustra II,1-11, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 191-225. |
|
10/7 |
Nietzsche: still more on Nietzschean values; the will to power |
Zarathustra II, 12-22, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 225-259 |
|
10/12 |
Nietzsche: eternal recurrence and the spirit of gravity |
Zarathustra III, Portable Nietzsche, pp. 260-343 |
|
10/14 |
MIDTERM |
— |
|
10/19 |
Heidegger: the question of being/phenomenology |
Being and Time, Introduction, pp. 1-35 |
|
10/21 |
FALL BREAK - NO CLASS |
— |
|
10/26 |
Heidegger: Being-in-the-world, Being-with |
Being and Time, Div. I, parts II and IV, pp. 49-58 and 107-122 |
|
10/28 |
Heidegger: care as the being of Dasein, Angst |
Being and Time, Div. I, part IV, pp. 169-196 |
|
11/2 |
Heidegger: care as the being of Dasein, truth |
Being and Time, Div. I, part IV, pp. 196-211 |
|
11/4 |
Heidegger: Being-towards-death |
Being and Time, Div. II, part I, pp. 213-246 |
|
11/9 |
Heidegger: anticipatory resoluteness |
Being and Time, Div. II, part II, pp. 247-277 |
|
11/11 |
Heidegger: ontological meaning of care |
Being and Time, Div, II. part III, pp. 279-306 |
|
11/16 |
Heidegger: temporality and everydayness |
Being and Time, Div. II, part IV, pp. 307-340 |
|
11/18 |
Heidegger: wrap-up |
— |
|
11/23 |
Sartre: freedom and responsibility, the desire to be God |
Essays in Existentialism , "Freedom & Responsibility," pp. 63-68; and "The Desire to Be God," pp. 69-73 |
|
11/25 |
THANKSGIVING - NO CLASS |
— |
|
11/30 |
Sartre: negation and nothingness |
Essays in Existentialism , "The Problem of Nothingness," pp. 75-107 |
|
12/2 |
Sartre: consciousness as the origin of nothingness |
Essays in Existentialism , "The Problem of Nothingness," pp. 107-146 |
|
12/7 |
Sartre: bad faith |
Essays in Existentialism , "The Problem of Nothingness," pp. 147-186 |
|
12/9 |
Sartre: defense of existentialism |
Essays in Existentialism , "The Humanism of Existentialism," pp. 31-62 |
|
12/14 |
FINAL EXAM 10:15-12:15 p.m. |