What does it mean to be an existentialist?
In the short book — What is Existentialism?, the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir described the challenges of defining Existentialism. Beauvoir wrote, “I must say right away that even an article is not enough to give an account of existentialism.”
Today’s meditation is an attempt at introducing Existentialism. One of the reasons for doing so is Reading & the Good Life (our weekly meetup) is set to explore Existentialism. Our next book is Irrational Man by William Barrett (for July). Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced Existentialism to America in 1958. The following month we begin The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, considered one of the most influential works of the twentieth century.
In this episode, you’ll hear a short meditation on Existentialism and a short clip from my previous conversation with Skye Cleary (the author of How to Be Authentic).
