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Overview
"The Remarkable Existentialists is simply the best introduction to existentialism I've read in at least two decades. Very clear, accessible, and engaging, it is also deeply and thoroughly informed and comprehensive in its scope. Professor Fox's knowledge of the tradition is masterful. The individual chapters on Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and de Beauvoir are gems, each of them lucidly presenting their main ideas and arguments and the range of their thinking and writing. This is an invaluable book for courses on existentialist thought or simply for the reader who wants to learn something about existentialism."-JAMES WOELFEL, Professor of Philosophy; Director of the Humanities and Western Civilization Program at the University of Kansas; Author of The Existentialist Legacy and Other Essays on Philosophy and Religion
One of the most original and refreshing approaches to philosophy is existentialism. Although the heyday of this movement spanned the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, the themes that existentialist philosophers explored are perennial and they remain central to the experience of contemporary human beings.
Existentialism asserts that the fact of human existence must always be counted as more important than any philosophical theory. Central to existentialist philosophy is human freedom and the responsibility that individuals have for creating their own destinies through an authentic engagement with the reality of their individual selves and the environment that surrounds them.
In this clear, concise guide to existentialism, philosopher Michael Allen Fox carefully defines existentialism, explains how it has evolved, and illuminates its relevance for today. In five major chapters, Fox then summarizes the full range of ideas of the major existentialists: Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. He pays special attention to the method and argumentative strategy of these philosophers, how they relate to one another, and how they advance our understanding of core issues in philosophy and in everyday living. Substantial representative passages from each philosopher are reproduced and analyzed. A final chapter critically evaluates existentialism and considers its influence on subsequent movements of thought.
Including discussions of key problems in each thinker's outlook, questions for reflection, and a generous bibliography, this is the most up-to-date general work on the subject available.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE REMARKABLE EXISTENTIALISTS:
"Michael Fox has written a user-friendly survey of existentialist philosophy and its major proponents. Its coverage is broad and its assessments are balanced....Highly recommended."
-THOMAS R. FLYNN, Professor of Philosophy at Emory University; Author of Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction and Sartre, Foucault, and Historical Reason
"This is a superb introduction to why existentialists have sparked so much intense interest and enthusiasm."
-RICHARD HOLMES, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo; Author of The Transcendence of the World: Phenomenological Studies
Michael Allen Fox is professor emeritus of philosophy at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and adjunct professor of humanities at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. He is the author of The Accessible Hegel, Deep Vegetarianism, and several other titles.
Book Details
Published
July 1, 2008
Publisher
Prometheus Books
ISBN
9781591029137