PHIL 31148
Existentialism: Origins & Dev · 3 credits · Fall 2026
About this course
"Existentialism is a widely influential philosophical view. However, perhaps because of its popularity, it is also widely misunderstood. This class aims to counter this by examining five historical phases of the development of existentialism. First, its earliest development in ancient Greek philosophy, in the contrast between the metaphysical outlooks of Plato and Aristotle. Second, the prioritizing of existence over essence in the philosophies of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. Third, the development of a philosophy that first called itself ?existentialist? in the Christian philosophers Nikolai Berdyaev, Gabriel Marcel, and Jacques Maritain. Fourth, the most famous form of existentialist thought today in Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. And fifth, the often-overlooked Arab existentialist movement and its development in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict."
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