Existentialism
Melvyn Bragg discusses existentialism, a twentieth century philosophy of everyday life concerned with the individual, and his or her place within the world.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss existentialism. Imagine being back inside the bustling cafes on the Left Bank of Paris in the 1930s, cigarette smoke, strong coffee and the buzz of continental voices philosophising about human responsibility and freedom. This kind of talk gave utterance to Existentialism. A twentieth century philosophy of everyday life concerned with the individual, and his or her place within the world. In novels, plays and philosophy, Existentialists try to work out the nature of our existence. As Roquentin says in Sartre鈥檚 novel 鈥楴ausea鈥, 鈥淭o exist is simply to be there; what exists appears, lets itself be encountered, but you can never deduce it鈥.But where did these ideas come from? What do they really mean? And how have they impacted on our lives? With Dr A. C. Grayling, Reader in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London; Christina Howells, Professor of French at the University of Oxford, fellow of Wadham College; Simon Critchley, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex and author of A Companion to Continental Philosophy.
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 28 Jun 2001 09:02麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4
- Thu 28 Jun 2001 21:30麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4
Featured in...
20th Century—In Our Time
Browse the 20th Century era within the In Our Time archive.
Philosophy—In Our Time
From Altruism to Wittgenstein, philosophers, theories and key themes.
Culture—In Our Time
Popular culture, poetry, music and visual arts and the roles they play in our society.
In Our Time podcasts
Download programmes from the huge In Our Time archive.
The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10
If you鈥檙e new to In Our Time, this is a good place to start.
Arts and Ideas podcast
Download the best of Radio 3's Free Thinking programme.
Podcast
-
In Our Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.