Dr. Blake Hestir
Office: Reed Hall 215B
Phone: 257 6371
Office Hours: 3:15-4:00 TTH, or by appointment
email: b.hestir@tcu.edu
1. Required Texts
2. Course Description and Objectives
What is existentialism? Good question. Let¼s find out. Answering this question is tricky, since there are only one or two philosophers out of the lot we shall study who even claims to be an existentialist. Nevertheless, existential philosophy is one of the more important intellectual movements of the 20th Century.The bulk of this course will be dedicated to reading and discussing two existentialist philosophers: Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre. We shall be primarily concerned with their views on the following topics: being, meaning, truth, death, authenticity, anxiety, freedom, the self, morality. But in order to set ourselves in a position to understand what they have to say about these topics, we need to take a close look at a few of the philosophers who influenced them, as well as a few of the philosophers against whom they are reacting. The convergence of all these avenues should provide us with a pretty good account of what existentialism is. Periodically throughout the course we shall explore the influence existential philosophy has had on feminism, literature, art, film, etc..
The exams will be take-home. I shall assign a set of questions for you to answer; your double-spaced, typed answers are due at the beginning of the following class period. The explanations I want to see in your papers are ones that you would give your roommate or friend if she or he asked you what, say, Sartre meant by that, or why he said this, or whatever. In other words, I don't want to see explanations which are full of the same jargon which the philosopher in question uses, but ones intended to convey the jargon to someone who doesn't know it already. These explanations needn't be long: what you want to do is answer the question or explain the given term or concept as concisely and as briefly as possible. Also, you should be critical, in the sense that you evaluate the position you're discussing. The sorts of questions you should keep in mind are ones such as: Are these claims defensible? What objections might someone raise? Are there any counter-objections the philosopher in question might have? What is vague or ambiguous about these claims?
You will be required to write a final paper. Topics will be announced ahead of time. The paper is to be original work, involving philosophical explanation and criticism of a particular philosopher¼s opinion or argument. This paper must be double-spaced, typed, and roughly 8-10 pages in length. You are not required to use any outside sources; the paper is not to be a research paper so much as one expressing your own reflection on the issues we have been dealing with. You may use further material if you wish, but be sure your own viewpoint comes through clearly. As with the exams, this paper should reflect your ability to summarize and discuss a particular position concisely and critically. Be sure to check grammar and spelling! Any paper not meeting these requirements will receive a grade no higher than the equivalent of a åC¼.
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should contact and provide appropriate documentation to the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities (Center for Academic Services) as soon as possible.