PHI 481: Existentialism
2024-25-I (July-November 2024)
First Course Handout
Instructor
Dr Prashant Bagad
Email: pbagad@iitk.ac.in
Phone: 0512-259-6691 | Office: FB 652 | Office Hours: Tuesday, 3-4 pm
Lecture Schedule
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 12 noon to 12:50 pm, L 12
Prerequisites
None
Objectives
Existentialism offers distinctive philosophical interpretations of human existence as it is lived
by an individual in worldly contexts. It analyses how the concern with being, the question of
meaning of life, and the ethical anxiety about “How to live?” are at the centre of every human
life. It pays attention to the role played by practical engagements and sociality, the encounter
with others, and moods and emotions in shaping the individual’s comportment with the
world. The course discusses expositions of existentialist themes in the thought of pioneers
such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and such twentieth-century philosophers as Martin
Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, and Maurice MarleauPonty. The course also considers the literary and aesthetic dimensions of this school of
philosophy as well as distinct existentialist viewpoints in the fields of aesthetics and
feminism.
Course contents
We shall consider the following existentialist themes:
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2.
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Life
Subjectivity
Meaning
Freedom
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5.
6.
7.
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Angst
Bad Faith
Alienation
Gender
Textbook
Smith, Joel. Existentialism: A Philosophical Inquiry. Routledge: London, 2022.
Reading Material
A set of photocopied readings can be purchased at the Photocopy Shop, Hall 8.
Hello IITK Platform
Essential information and additional resources will be made available on the online platform,
Hello IITK: https://hello.iitk.ac.in/.
Attendance
You are expected to attend all classes and actively participate in discussions. Your
engagement with lectures and participation in discussions will help you understand and
appreciate the subject. It can also enhance your performance in exams. There are no marks
for attendance.
Evaluation
Quiz I (Friday, 6 September 2024): 10 marks
Mid-Sem Exam: 35 marks
Quiz II (Friday, 1 November 2024): 15 marks
End-Sem Exam: 40 marks
In quizzes, you are expected to write descriptive notes, which demonstrate your
comprehension of given concepts, theories, or views.
In mid-sem and end-sem exams, you are expected to write long, critical, essay-like answers,
which demonstrate your comprehension as well as your own evaluation of given concepts,
theories, or views.
If you miss a quiz or an exam for a medical reason, then you may inform me by email about
that and apply to the SUGC for medical leave. I can consider giving you marks on a pro rata
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basis only if I receive formal communication from the SUGC/DOAA office granting you
medical leave for the day of a quiz or an exam. I cannot consider any other kind of leave.
Books and References
Introductions to Existentialism
Aho, Kevin. Existentialism. Polity: London, 2014.
Bakewell, Sarah. At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails. Other
Press: New York, 2016.
Barrett, William. Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy. Anchor Books: New
York, 1962.
Blackham, H. J. Six Existentialist Thinkers. Harper and Row: New York, 1959.
Earnshaw, Steven. Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Continuum: London, 2006.
Flynn, Thomas. Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press: Oxford,
2006.
Olson, Robert. Introduction to Existentialism. Dover: New York, 1962.
Reynolds, Jack. Understanding Existentialism. Acumen: Bucks, 2006.
Solomon, Robert. Introducing the Existentialists: Imaginary Interviews with Sartre,
Heidegger and Camus. Hackett: Indianapolis, 1981.
Solomon, Robert. Existentialism (second edition). Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2005.
Wicks, Robert. Introduction to Existentialism: From Kierkegaard to The Seventh Seal.
Bloomsbury: London, 2020.
Anthologies of selections from works of existentialists
Freidman, Maurice (ed.). Worlds of Existentialism: A Critical Reader. Random House: New
York, 1964.
Kaufmann, Walter (ed.). Existentialism: From Dostoevsky to Sartre. Meridian Books: New
York, 1956.
Marino, Gordon (ed.). Basic Writings of Existentialism. Modern Library: New York, 2004.
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Companions and Handbooks
Crowell, Steven (ed.). Cambridge Companion to Existentialism. Cambridge University Press:
Cambridge, 2012.
Dreyfus, Hubert and Wrathall, Mark (eds.). Blackwell Companion to Phenomenology and
Existentialism. Blackwell: Malden, 2006.
Joseph, Reynolds, Woodward (eds.). Bloomsbury Companion to Existentialism. Bloomsbury:
London, 2011.
Michelman, Stephen. Historical Dictionary of Existentialism. Scarecrow Press: Lanham,
Maryland, 2008.
Michelman, Stephen. A to Z of Existentialism. Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland, 2010.
Web
Aeon: https://aeon.co/
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/
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