Philosophy

Existentialism

Module code: V7084
Level 4
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework

In this module, you'll engage with key existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus. You'll also examine how existentialism is present in more contemporary philosophy.

You'll explore key concepts like:

• freedom
• facticity
• ambiguity
• absurdity
• human existence.

You'll discuss how existentialism relates to ethical issues and why it appears in philosophy as well as literature. 

Module learning outcomes

• Become familiar with key issues and movements in the history of existentialism.
• Work critically with philosophical and literary sources relevant to the understanding of existentialism.
• Analyse and summarise the central arguments of existentialist writers and philosophers.
• Present the familiar arguments for and against the existentialist treatment of human freedom, reason, and experience.