Ph 42 Summer 2005 David Banach

Ph 42 Existentialism

If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the foundation of all there lay only a wildly seething power which writhing with obscure passions produced everything that is great and everything that is insignificant, if a bottomless void never satiated lay hidden beneath all -- what then would life be but despair?. . . . Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling

You say that science itself will teach man . . . that he himself is nothing more than a sort of piano-key or organ stop Then . . . new economic relations will be established, . . . so that all sorts of problems will vanish in a twinkling simply because ready-made solutions will be provided for all of them. . . . Everything will be so splendidly rational. . . .
Quite right, but there's the rub! . . . Reason is only reason and it can only satisfy the reasoning ability of man, whereas volition is a manifestation of the whole of life. . . . And although our life, thus manifested, very often turns out to be a sorry business, it is life nonetheless and not merely extraction of square roots. . . .
The whole meaning of human life can be summed up in the one statement that man only exists for the purpose of proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not an organ-stop. (Dostoevsky, "Notes from the Underground")

If I didn't believe in life, if I lost faith in the woman I love, lost faith in the order of things, were convinced, in fact, that everything is a disorderly, damnable, and perhaps devil-ridden chaos, if I were struck by every horror of man's disillusionment- still I should want to live . . . Love life more than the meaning of it?" "Certainly, love it, regardless of logic as you say, it must be regardless of logic, and it's only then one will understand the meaning of it.

Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment that he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does. Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism

The preceding merely defines a way of thinking. But the point is to live. Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus

The Course:

This course is a seminar devoted to an examination of a sampling of the great works of the existentialist Tradition from Kierkegaard to Camus. The main work of the course is a careful reading and discussion of the primary texts.

Office: Bradley House 309 Office phone: 641-7062

email- dbanach@anselm.edu personal webpage: www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach course webpage: www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/42.htm

Texts:

1. Walter Kaufman: Existentialism From Dostoevsky To Sartre

2. F. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.

3. Soren Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling

4. Friederich Nietzsche, Thus Sprach Zarathustra

5. Albert Camus. The Fall. Vintage
6. Albert Camus. The Stranger. Gilbert translation.

Requirements:

Participation 40% Thesis Paper/Presentation 20% Final Exam 40%

Participation:

This Course is a seminar in which most of the learning is effected by your direct engagement with the great minds of this period. You are expected to come to each seminar prepared. This preparation should involve:

1. Reading of the required material.

2. Familiarizing yourself with the background information necessary to understand the context, audience, and intended purpose of the text.

3. Making a written list or outline of important ideas, facts, or issues in the reading. This may be collected at any time and be used in determining your participation grade.

4. Formulating your ideas, opinions, and arguments concerning these issues or problems.

5. Formulating a list of questions, ideas, observations, or comments on the general topic of the required reading.

You will be given a grade each meeting for your participation in the seminar discussions. You will get a zero for any seminar which you do not attend. All valid excuses for missing class must be presented in writing.

Criteria for evaluation:

1. Familiarity with material in readings: If you show, by your inability to answer a question, or in some other way, that you failed to do the reading, you will most likely get a failing grade for that seminar.

2. Ability to identify and comment on important issues and ideas: You should have prepared a list of important issues and your ideas on them, so you can volunteer them or provide them when asked.

3. Organization and clarity of presentation: Your comments should be related to the issue under discussion, should further the discussion, and should be presented as clearly and concisely as possible.

4. Rigorous Argument: You should be prepared to defend your claims with arguments.

5. Seriousness and interest: You should take the issues we discuss seriously and try to become interested in them.

6. Originality and creativity: You should demonstrate an ability to think for yourself, to evaluate claims for yourself, and to formulate your own arguments for your positions.

You are encouraged to check you participation grade regularly and to discuss any deficiencies with me.

Final Exam:
The Final Exam is a cumulative exam. It will include short questions on the readings as well as essay questions requiring you to discuss issues. Besides being 40% of your grade it is also the primary factor in deciding borderline cases. In cases of extraordinarily good performances on the final exam, I retain the option of raising the final course grade to accord more with the final exam grade.

Thesis Paper/Presentations: Each student must defend a thesis about one work from each of the three sections of the course. The student is expected to (1) choose an argument from one of the works we have read, (2) explain the origin and significance of the issue raised in the argument, and (3) to defend a thesis on this issue. You should note that this project cannot be merely exposition or explanation of a text. You are encouraged to discuss your topic with me before beginning work. You may complete your thesis project in one of two ways:

(A) Paper Option: A 3-5 (800 to 1500 word) paper. Expectations for clarity of exposition and expression will be higher for the written option.

(B) Oral Thesis Defense Option: To use this option you must make an appointment 1week in advance to meet outside of class for your defense. You will orally present a 5-10 minute introduction to the issue and your thesis and then will undergo a 10-20 minute examination in which you will defend your thesis against objections. There is no written requirement for this option. Here the emphasis is on your ability to defend your thesis with rigor against objections. This must be completed before the last day of class.

Grading:

Your grade will be determined as follows:

Participation 400

Thesis Paper/Presentation 200

Final 400

----------------------------------------------

Total 1000

A --- 950 and above C- -- 700 to 724

A- -- 900 to 949 D+ -- 670 to 699

B+ -- 875 to 899 D --- 600 to 669

B --- 835 to 874 E --- below 600

B- -- 800 to 834

C+ -- 775 to 799

C --- 725 to 774