PHIL 215 - Phenomenology & Existential Thought

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

When he discovered the “concrete thinking” of phenomenology and existentialism, Sartre wrote, he realized that “truth drags through the streets, in the factories…everything was changed forever.” Indeed, for many Continental philosophers, phenomenology and existentialism represent the most significant and foundational philosophical movements of the 20^th century. These intertwining approaches analyze our finite human existence as we experience it in what we commonly call a “world.” But what does it really mean to exist here and now, and only for a while? Why do we create “worlds” or networks of relationships that seem to offer us great personal, social, and political well-being but also immense anxiety? In this course, we will try to avoid the kind of clichés, posturing, or facades—intellectual pretention, religiosity, scientism, consumerism, etc.—that, as Heidegger said, “cover over” and obfuscate questions about human existence instead of encountering them. Rather, we will mine the most basic of these questions with persistent attention: What sustains or underpins authentic life with others? As we trace the origins of phenomenology and existentialism from the ancient Greeks to today, we will put these methods to work as others have done to discuss issues like gender, sexuality, race, colonialism, politics, and community. Readings will include works by Plato, Aristotle, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, Emmanuel Levinas, Sara Ahmed, and Jean-Luc Nancy. Travis Holloway.

Two 75-minute periods.