Existentialism
How to face freedom and create an authentic life.
What: A Curious Soul Philosophy workshop series
Where: Online via Zoom
When: Each workshop is 3 Saturdays, new dates TBA
What Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Description:
What might it mean to “become yourself”? What if your identity is not yet determined, and the meaning and purpose of your life is up to you to create? How might you live with this sort of freedom and responsibility?
These are philosophical questions central to existentialism. For the existentialists, philosophy is not a specialized academic discipline. It is an activity that is fully integrated into an individual’s life. It is connected to our first person experience, it raises our awareness about the way we exist as free beings in the world, and it teaches us to actualize and own this freedom in our projects, choices, and actions.
Most of the thinkers loosely grouped as “existentialists” (like philosophers Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and De Beauvoir, and literary writers Dostoevsky, Kafka, and Camus) never used the word “existential” to define themselves. But the term existentialism is popularly used to stand for a movement in 19th and 20th Century Europe, which has at least five core themes:
- First, those grouped as existentialists tend to see the universe as devoid of any absolute (nature-given or God-given) meaning, order, or value.
- Second, they see human beings as lacking a fixed essence or purpose. Instead, humans enjoy (or are plagued by) the freedom to form their own identities and create meaning in their lives.
- Third, existentialists describe the experience of freedom in a wide open universe as a disorienting state of homelessness that causes us to be overcome with angst and alienation.
- Fourth, existentialists recognize that our common knee-jerk reaction to realizing our own freedom is denial — a kind of “bad faith” in which we pretend we are determined to be as we are. Existentialists encourage us, instead, to “face up” to our freedom and take ownership of our own beliefs and actions.
- Fifth, existentialists believe that living authentically as free beings, while also coping with the pressures of the social-cultural-historical context in which we are situated, is the central drama of human life. Learning to be a free individual amidst the “herd” is the greatest challenge of each person’s life.
Join us to:
- Examine human freedom and responsibility
- Recognize and avoid instances of “bad faith” in your life
- Consider your own role in your interpretations and actions
- Become the “artist” of your life!
Workshop One: Introducing Existentialism and Its Godfather
Topics:
Facing the death of God
Avoiding nihilism and creating meaning
Reconceiving truth as perspective
Affirming life
Becoming the artist of your life
Readings from: Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) edited by Charles Guignon and Derek Pereboom, Hackett Publishing Co., 2001 (Includes selections from Nietzsche’s Gay Science).
Workshop Two: A Deeper Dive: Nietzsche and the Genealogy of Morals
Topics:
Examining the value of our values
Tracing the origins of noble and slave moralities
Recognizing ressentiment and its creations
Understanding the manufacturing of ideals
Discovering the origins of guilt
Uncovering the workings of the will
Readings from: On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by Walter Kaufmann, Vintage, 1967.
Workshop Three: Heidegger and Recovering Our Connection With the World
Topics:
Overcoming the subject-object model of reality
Uncovering the roots of meaning in practical contexts
Developing our selves in our actions
Confronting death
Making our lives our own
Readings from: Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) edited by Charles Guignon and Derek Pereboom, Hackett Publishing Co., 2001 (Includes selections from Heidegger’s Being and Time).
Workshop Four: Sartre and Overcoming Bad Faith
Topics:
Taking ownership of our interpretations
Recognizing open possibilities of action
Taking responsibility for our choices
Dealing with others
Considering an existential ethic
Readings from: Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) edited by Charles Guignon and Derek Pereboom, Hackett Publishing Co., 2001 (Includes selections from Sartre’s Being and Nothingness).
About Philosophy Workshops
Philosophy Workshops emphasize discussion, life experience, and practical application. They are led by philosophy professors committed to accessible language and open conversation. No prior philosophical training is necessary . . . just an open mind, a respectful approach to others, and a sense of humor!
About Your Workshop Leader:
Monica Vilhauer, Ph.D. is a former professor of philosophy and the founder of Curious Soul Philosophy. She’s committed to the practical value of philosophy for everyday life, and she’s always looking for ways to move philosophy beyond academic settings and into the community. She does this by offering workshops, retreats, and individual philosophical counseling through Curious Soul.
The Theory and the Lab:
There are two portions of this discussion-based workshop: 1) the Theory, and 2) the Lab.
In the Theory portion of the workshop (the first half of each session) we’ll work to understand key concepts from our reading for the day and from supplementary mini-lectures given by the workshop leader. In the Lab portion of the workshop (the second half) we will reflect on the ways in which the theory applies to our own personal and political struggles. We will devise “experiments” for putting key concepts into practice in our lives, and we will discuss with each other how our experiments work out.
Preparation:
For each meeting, participants should read in advance the selection of text we’ll be discussing, consider some questions Monica will send by email to help us focus, and come with some marked passages to talk about.
Cost per person for each workshop: $200 (Each workshop is three 2-hour philosophy sessions)
- You may register for one workshop or a series of workshops
- The workshops have limited space. Register today to save yourself a spot!
- Deadline to register: TBA
- Register by clicking the button below and following instructions to use PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, PayPal still allows you to pay using a credit card.
Registration is now closed.