Chapter 14 Goals

14.1 The Existential Tone

• Define
• Know the five themes that existentialists explore in their work.

14.2 Kierkegaard

• Define fideism and explain why Kierkegaard’s view is thought to be an example of it.
• Understand how, according to Kierkegaard, society is crushing individuality.
• State Kierkegaard’s idea about the paradox of Christian belief and explain his view that an absurd belief is necessary for a leap of faith.
• State and evaluate Kierkegaard’s claim that subjective truth can become objective truth.

14.3 Nietzsche

• Understand Nietzsche’s doctrine of the will to power and explain how this phenomenon is supposed to manifest itself in philosophy and science.
• Explain what Nietzsche means by his assertion that “God is dead.”
• Critically evaluate three myths about Nietzsche.
• Summarize Nietzsche’s distinction between master morality and slave morality.
• Understand why Nietzsche maintains that slave morality is manifest in Christianity and belief in God.

14.4 Heidegger

• Define phenomenology.
• Summarize key events in Heidegger’s life and explain why he has been both admired and reviled by other philosophers.
• Understand Heidegger’s notion of being.
• Explain the three fundamental aspects of Dasein discussed by Heidegger.

14.5 Sartre

• Explain Sartre’s notion of radical freedom and why he thinks we are entirely responsible for who we are.
• Explain Sartre’s concept of “existence precedes essence.”
• Understand why Sartre believes that our radical freedom is both a blessing and a curse.
• Know Sartre’s views on God and human nature.
• Explain why Sartre thinks human life is characterized by anguish and despair.

14.6 Camus

• Define existential absurdity.
• Understand why Camus thinks human existence is absurd.
• Recount the myth of Sisyphus, and explain what it symbolizes for Camus.
• Explain what Camus means by “there is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.”