Existentialism is a school of thought that grew out of the tradition of Western philosophy and gained mass popularity in the post-war years of the mid-20th century. Existentialism is an attempt at understanding what it means to be a human being in the world. If you've ever wondered about the meaning of life, existentialism may help provide a way to think through this difficult question.

We will explore a number of concepts in this course including alienation, phenomenology, being, consciousness, death and freedom. This course will be an excellent introduction to existentialism and continental philosophy, including philosophers such as Sartre, Heidegger, Marx, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard.

We will be reading David Coopers excellent introduction, 'Existentialism: A Reconstruction', for this course. Students will be expected to do reading before class, around 10 pages. Both a PDF and print copy of the book will be available.

Students will learn the basics of existentialist concepts as well as a general introduction to Western continental philosophy. Students will be able to expand their vocabulary and learn to think about their lives using philosophy.

I have taught a number of classes on philosophy including courses on Marx and Nietzsche, and tutored students on Western philosophy. I have studied philosophy for 10 years and have read a number of major philosophical works, including works by Marx, Hegel, Nietzsche, Sartre, Heidegger and others.