Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with existentialism

Courting Ellen West

crush-onastick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:45:28 -0800

“The Case of Ellen West” was published by the Swiss psychiatrist, Ludwig Binswanger, in 1944–1945 and (as far as I can tell) appeared in English translation in 1958. Anyone know where I can get a copy? Usual search suspects are turning up only the Carl Rogers article, "Ellen West and Loneliness", in the Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry (which I've requested via interlibrary loan) and some other scholarly pubs on Rogers (behind the usual pay walls).

An optimistic novel for an indoctrinated nihilist?

zaebiz — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:46:18 -0800

What is a classic, perhaps philosophical, novel about individual freedom to choose? So that no matter how desperate the situation you find yourself in, you always have choices about what to do, how to feel and how to think about your situation. The book is for a Russian lady who grew up mostly in the Soviet era but finds herself in Western civilisation somewhat isolated. When things get very difficult, she tends to react in a nihilistic fashion, rather than a hopeful optimistic fashion. I was thinking some thing in the Jean-Paul Satre mold, but then my knowledge of novels is very limited so very open to suggestions. Ideally it would be so widely available that its pretty likely I could find it written in Russian.

Individual free choice but collective predictability?

zaebiz — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:54:03 -0800

Can someone explain why despite the fact that every one of these incidents occurs at a unique time and place, each involves a complex history of events and personal decisions leading to its very unlikely outcome, that the death toll on the roads year-on-year is so predictable? See here and here. Why doesn't it jump around from 100 one year, to 8000 another year for example? What is it about human nature in particular that makes the rate of error leading to death so predictably in the same narrow range? This is not a question about law enforcement, personal practices or the nature of death. It's more a question of individual free will, statistics and aggregate regularity. Does anyone even understand the existential puzzle I am trying to unravel here or is it really just unmysterious?

PhilosophyFilter: The burden of choice- When did choice come into play?

ISeemToBeAVerb — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:22:27 -0800

I was thinking today about the idea of choice. The existentialists talked about choice all the time- How every human has the "burden of choice". In other words, we all have the "burden" of free will, the choice to do something or to not do something. I know my philosophy knowledge is rudimentary at best, but I guess my question is: when did this idea of choice emerge? Primitive man had no luxury of choice, everything was about survival- So at what point did humans develop the idea of having a choice?

Quote about pointless struggle against insurmountable injustice

mistersix — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:01:51 -0800

I am looking for a quote that I heard or read recently, something along the lines of "It is pointless to struggle against overwhelming injustice; it is worse not to struggle against it" or "You ask how it is that I can expend effort fighting against an unchangeable, unjust system? I ask how it is that you can live with not doing so." I'm looking for the exact quote, and the book or essay or what-have-you in which it originally appeared that I can read for some context. I probably came across the quote in the past few months, on a website or radio show. The quote, if I recall correctly, was from some philosopher, politician, or social activist; not a violent person, and not a fictional character. It may be a quote from Camus or Sartre. My impression is that the speaker meant that probably-futile action/protest against a systemic wrong you can't right is preferable to accepting that you can do nothing about it. Thanks in advance...
If you don't know the source of the quote, but know a well-written book or essay that explores the idea of it, such pointers would also be welcome.

The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits

Totally Zanzibarin' Ya — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:19:15 -0800

I need suggestions for a snappy comeback involving existentialism. I need a snappy/funny/witty comeback for when someone asks "How's that existentialism working out for you?".

Is this all there is?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:41:25 -0800

I am a woman, 49 years old. I am not depressed - my general emotional tone is usually positive and from day to day I move along with energy and interest - but I am having trouble feeling that there's anything to look forward to. I am 49 and menopausal but otherwise physically healthy. I do not take drugs, and drink sparingly. I am not attractive to men and never have been, but I am not interested in women.

I have no university degree. I earn my living but I just scrape by. I rent my living space and do not drive a car. Due to some carelessness with finances in recent years I lost every penny of savings to the tax people recently and am facing further tax debt but have no resources so will be under a large debt load for the foreseeable future. This will be tricky because I don't exactly earn much surplus.

I have no family and no husband or boyfriend. My parents are dead and my only sibling lives on another continent. I have a few friends but I tend to get drawn into working on projects with people, and once a friendship goes down that route, they're your clients and not primarily your friends any more. And once people are your clients, you have to be a little detached wth them, put on a good face and never let them see any weaknesses.

I feel I'm too old to requalify for another trade and have never had much ambition anyway. So long as the bills get paid and I can eat I don't ask for much more, but I am getting older and am already feeling the exclusion that happens when your work is centred around the computer but you look more like a potential employer's mother than his siblings.

So I feel I am facing encroaching old age in inevitable poverty. Perhaps that's the human condition and I am just feeling self-pity, but I did hope there would be more to life than this. Can a homely middle-aged woman turn this around, or is the best thing to simply give in to the stretch-pants and soap operas of middle age and learn how to cook cheaply for the day I end up on social assistance?

Beach romances that are deep. But not too deep. Where are they?

cowbellemoo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:36:39 -0800

What books are similar in attitude and environment to Bonjour Tristesse (Françoise Sagan)? I've only read a few books twice, and this is one of them, so I'd love to find more like it. It's the only Sagan book I've read, so that might be a good place to start looking if she kept largely to the style of this first novel.

Elements of the novel I was particularly fond of:

— French Riviera/beach leisure/summertime
— Ravishing, young, independent women
— the 'existential romance' of it. self-consciousness and manipulation (benign and not). Distinguishing it from a dopey romance, I hope.

I'm hoping that a few other books (or movies, comics, anything really) have the same features and simple style of Bonjour Tristesse. Thanks for the help!

I need to find a religious studies graduate program!

Gideon — Sat, 12 May 2007 18:25:45 -0800

I'm about a year off from Grad school, and I'm beginning to look around for good places to go. I'm a bit of a dinosaur, however, and am very interested in existential religion and am interested in studying a kind of... ontological foundationalism whereas the focus will be how man establishes and functions through his sense of being/meaning in the world. I need some good suggestions on what schools I may want to look into. I'm not interested in a comparative or specialist program (Judaism, Christianity, etc) - I'm really looking for a Religion and Culture, or something similar to what I outlined above. I'm also not adverse to a religion and psychology (with a emphasis on the religion aspect) or general social sciences and religion.

I'm a fairly good student, and am considering Rice and Brown - but wouldn't want to try much higher than that. I'm alright with international schools, providing English is the primary language.

Thanks!

Islam and Proto-?

Gnostic Novelist — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 08:41:47 -0800

Is there an Islamic equivalent to the existential precursors in Judeo-Christianity.? For example, I am mainly thinking of an Islamic equivalent to Ecclesiastes, which is seen as a precursor to Existentialism. Also, are there any writers from Islamic cultures that have existentialist leanings (i.e. versions of Emile Cioran or Paul Tillich) ?.

The value of loneliness

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 19:07:23 -0800

Does loneliness have any value? For some reason, I've always had this idea that periods of loneliness are necessary and healthy parts of life. I don't know where I came up with that. If this makes any sense, I kind of see those periods of being lonely like trimming back a plant, at first it looks terrible and dead, but it is necessary for the plant to grow and become fuller. Is there any truth to that?

I guess I wonder this because I'm going through a lonely spell right now. I'm in my early 20's, transitioning to a new phase, in a new city alone, with tons of time to think. I'm in good mental health, and am making an effort to meet people, so I'm not just sitting around feeling sorry for myself. But periods of loneliness, I don't think, turn on and off so quickly. Anyways, this question isn't really about me other than my wondering whether this can be a somewhat healthy thing to go through, or should I just make a full-on effort to be happy all of the time. Any insight pertaining to loneliness and periods of loneliness would be appreciated too.

recommendations for unusual, accessible existentialist text?

ori — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:21:05 -0800

What non-standard texts would you recommend for a community reading group on Existentialism? I am hoping to volunteer as a coordinator of a discussion group on Existentialism, part of a program in the humanities for people without higher education. I would like to hear your suggestions for readings, aside from the obvious canon of excerpts from Kierkegaard, Sartre, Pascal, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Jaspers &co. The readings should not be too technical, be literature or philosophy, and ideally 50 pages or less. They don't even have to represent "Existentialism" proper (whatever that is!); anything that explores themes of subjectivity is welcome.

Why's 'existential detective' funny?

whatitis — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 12:25:57 -0800

What makes the job title of 'Existential Detective' from 'I Heart Huckabees' so funny? A good friend, who is getting his PhD in Philosophy, found this hilarious. Unfortunately, not being familiar with the field, the joke was completely lost on me. Anyone care to explain?