Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Here's a brief video hello!

Welcome dear student of philosophy! Existentialism is a course that introduces the ideas of some of the best-known and and most influential thinkers of our time. They include philosophers and literary figures like Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, Gabriel Marcel, Karl Jaspers, Miguel de Unamuno, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and others. Existentialist thinkers, in venerable philosophical tradition, pursue traditional metaphysical and ethical inquiry--asking about the meaning of being and of moral obligation. But they typically do so by focusing on themes central to personal existence, such as the deep absurdity life involves, what it means to be an individual, the sense in which we are free, interpersonal relations, the possibility and meaning of transcendence. It is not uncommon for this emphasis on themes crucial to individual existence to draw students quite personally--not just academically--into their study of Existentialism. Steve Jolin, your instructor, has a special relationship with Existentialism. He studied in France with Existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel, writing his doctoral dissertation on Marcel, and translating one of the philosopher's important works into English for Northwestern University Press.

A note on the required textbook.  You'll need the texbook, Existentialism, 2nd edition, edited by Robert Solomon, immediately.  There will be an important assignment from the book starting the first day of class. The book is an excellent collection of original texts by existentialist thinkers, with valuable introductory material by Robert Solomon.  Fortunately, the book is quite inexpensive.  It's priced new in the range of $45.95 to $49.95, and is available used from a variety of sources for about $15 to about $38.  Check online for this book.  Normally, the campus bookstore also carries this  text.