Hello lads, i'm trying to begin reading about existentialism, is Sartre a good place to start? if so; can you recommend me a book to start with?
Otherwise i'd appreciate suggestions
>>7410947
that's a good place to start? not by sartre himself i suppose right
Smoke dmt, Bismarck.
Pick up 'Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction'
>>7410971
alright will start with that
>>7410990
Nausea by Sartre is pretty much what anyone reads in an Intro to Existentialism college course and it's a fairly easy read so give that a look
>>7411028
i've been reading reviews and many claim it's terrible, what's the deal with it?
>>7411058
bump
>>7411028
I have read it but I didnt get it. I just remember him being weird about stuff. Is is because I didnt started with the greeks?
>>7411138
No, Sartre just bullshit a lot. He was a weird cross-eyed man who took lots of drugs and probably had depersonalisation disorder.
His plays are fantastic though, and a better intro, you can get all his main plays in one book and read them in a day. In fact, existentialist literature is a great way to start out; there's a lot of good absurdist stuff to like the Plague - which will have similar themes.
>>7411138
he be like I exist, I exist the thing exists.this chair exists , this is weird
get some camus up in hea'
>>7410947
I've heard unironically positive commentary on this book.
>>7411166
i will give it a try thanks m8
>>7410947
is she trying to prove that she is smart or is she smart?
>>7410941
Existentialism is best understood through the plays and novels it produced. I suggest:
1. Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzche
2. The Underground Man and the Brothers K by Dostoyevsky
3. Either/Or by Kierkegaard
4. The Trial, The Metaphorphosis, by Kafka
5. The Plague by Camus
6. No Exit and Nasuea by Sartre
7. Journey to the End of the Night by Celine
8. The Rhinoceros by Ionesco
9. Waiting for Godot, The Molloy Trilogy, by Beckett
10. Catch 22 by Heller
11. Invisible Man by Ellison
12. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep and Flow my Tears the Policeman Said by Dick
13. Infinite Jest by Wallace
>>7411166
Don't listen to them. "Existentialism is a Humanism" by Sartre was almost literally written as an introduction to existentialism.
>>7410957
it's by Walter Kaufmann who is probably best known as an English translator of Nietzsche. It's an excellent little book.
>>7411195
I'm curious to how Infinite Jest is existentialist. Also I would read For Self-Examination, Concept of Anxiety, and Stages of Life instead of Either/Or if you want existentialism.
I'm currently reading The Wall by Sartre. The stories are kinda fun to read. I wonder what's the existentialism in it. I didn't even look up existentialism on Wikipedia yet.
>>7411192
its a photoshop,for example /fit/ has it with the "starting strength" book
>>7411870
Infinite Jest is hugely concerned with the concept of existential anxiety, as it underwrites addiction, and authenticity (or "sincerity" as Wallace as rebranded it.)
I also find that mature existentialist work is more concerned with the way that society is complicating the individual's search for meaning than the inherent meaninglessness of life. Think about the difference between The Plague and The Stranger.
And I restricted my list to novels and plays. I think Existentialism is much more coherent as a lived-in philosophy than it is abstracted, and it also makes it much more accessible to the reader who isn't used to reading philosophy.
>>7412911
so you're saying reading a novel about it is better than reading a philosophical abstract book?
>>7411761
Seriously tell me how inter-subjectivity makes any sense within Sartre's philosophy. It's just a coy attempt to get out of saying the Nazi's were bad to a post-war French audience.
>>7410941
"Again?"
Anything fiction from Sartre is a good starting point. His play Dirty Hands is still one of my favorite pieces of literature.
>>7410941
Who's that in the picture?s-sorry for being pleb, /lit/
>>7411195
>The Rhinoceros by Ionesco
This will be your best intro to existentialism, OP
>>7413697
They compliment each-other; Existentialism is as much an artistic exploration of human emotion and unease at being alive as it is a philosophy. For instance, The Plague and The Stranger by Camus are fantastic books that give a hearty depiction of his own take on meaning, or lack of it - while the Myth of Sysiphus is a lucid amalgamation of various existentialist thought presented in a few essays. It's one of the most continential spheres of philosphy, it that it will often take up emotional arguments: Kierkegaard, "The Father of Existentialism", stressed the importance of passion in both thought and life.
>>7413697
Yes. The philosophical literature is obviously interesting, but existentialism is more about an attitudinal shift than it is about grasping a system. It's the sort of thing literature, the novel, the play, the poem, excels at communicating imo.
>>7415340
Seconding Camus' novels as the best starting place. Easy reading and he won the Nobel for a reason
>>7415340
Thrice Camus' novels, his novels are basically questions, not answers, but it makes you feel something which makes for better understanding.
>>7415302
its bismarck
By far the best place to start, imho
The Second Sex.
Not even a feminist, but I feel like her existentialism was better than her contemporaries'.
>>7411761 is good, and >>7415276 is right, too.
Otherwise, Nietzsche but not Thus Spoke, I don't dig the whole philosophic-narrative thing, so tend to avoid blurting out Dostoyevsky! and >>7411195
>>7416671
read this the other day. i don't get it..
existentialism = being a bitter loser?
>>7411195
>Either/Or by Kierkegaard
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