Situating Existentialism —— Key Texts in Context

The strange thing about existentialism is that, though it expresses important and deep truths about life, when you look into the details of any of the main existentialist philosophers, they turn out to be really unbalanced people. Kierkegaard was full of guilt and anxiety, Nietzsche was over-the-top in nearly everything he said, Heidegger was a Nazi for part of his life, even Sartre (the best of the four) kept on for decades with an unresolved tension between loving freedom and fellow-travelling with Stalinism. This book helps to explain the paradox. By discussing not only existentialist writings, but also the contexts in which they were read, discussed, and proved influential, this book tells the story of times and scenes where each of these philosophers were just one of a number of different influences. When taken together, what they had in common made a lot of sense, even though none of them on their own seems reliable. And when commented on by other less exciting but more balanced writers, their original contributions steadily became parts of a worldview which articulated both the spirit of the times and also more long-lasting features of the human condition. An interesting example of this process is the chapter which tells the story of how Kierkegaard, who never set out to be "the father of existentialism" but just wanted to be a good Christian, became taken up a hundred years after he wrote his books, and looked back to as a source for ideas which had been moved a long distance from what he originally wrote. Different chapters in this collection discuss how existentialism was received in different countries - interesting to see how Americans modified its politics to make it more acceptable - and how the different key philosophers got interpreted and reinterpeted. This book is a strong reminder that philosophy matters not just because of what it says, but also because of how it gets taken up and how its influence works. 'Situating Existentialism' is a complement and counterbalance to most other books about existentialism which only give you texts but leave out the contexts.

Very good

The strange thing about existentialism is that, though it expresses important and deep truths about life, when you look into the details of any of the main existentialist philosophers, they turn out to be really unbalanced people. Kierkegaard was full of guilt and anxiety, Nietzsche was over-the-top in nearly everything he said, Heidegger was a Nazi for part of his life, even Sartre (the best of the four) kept on for decades with an unresolved tension between loving freedom and fellow-travelling with Stalinism.This book helps to explain the paradox. By discussing not only existentialist writings, but also the contexts in which they were read, discussed, and proved influential, this book tells the story of times and scenes where each of these philosophers were just one of a number of different influences. When taken together, what they had in common made a lot of sense, even though none of them on their own seems reliable. And when commented on by other less exciting but more balanced writers, their original contributions steadily became parts of a worldview which articulated both the spirit of the times and also more long-lasting features of the human condition.An interesting example of this process is the chapter which tells the story of how Kierkegaard, who never set out to be "the father of existentialism" but just wanted to be a good Christian, became taken up a hundred years after he wrote his books, and looked back to as a source for ideas which had been moved a long distance from what he originally wrote.Different chapters in this collection discuss how existentialism was received in different countries - interesting to see how Americans modified its politics to make it more acceptable - and how the different key philosophers got interpreted and reinterpeted.This book is a strong reminder that philosophy matters not just because of what it says, but also because of how it gets taken up and how its influence works. 'Situating Existentialism' is a complement and counterbalance to most other books about existentialism which only give you texts but leave out the contexts.