Basic Writings of Existentialism: (Modern Library Classics)

Edited and with an Introduction by Gordon Marino Basic Writings of Existentialism, unique to the Modern Library, presents the writings of key nineteenth- and twentieth-century thinkers broadly united by their belief that because life has no inherent meaning humans can discover, we must determine meaning for ourselves. This anthology brings together into one volume the most influential and commonly taught works of existentialism. Contributors include Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ralph Ellison, Martin Heidegger, S ren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo. Edited and with an Introduction by Gordon Marino Basic Writings of Existentialism, unique to the Modern Library, presents the writings of key nineteenth- and twentieth-century thinkers broadly united by their belief that because life has no inherent meaning humans can discover, we must determine meaning for ourselves. This anthology brings together into one volume the most influential and commonly taught works of existentialism. Contributors include Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ralph Ellison, Martin Heidegger, S ren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo.

Table of Contents:
Contents INTRODUCTION by Gordon Marino ix BASIC WRITINGS OF EXISTENTIALISM SØREN KIERKEGAARD FEAR AND TREMBLING Problema I 7 Problema II 24 THE SICKNESS UNTO DEATH A. Despair Is the Sickness unto Death 41 B. The Universality of This Sickness (Despair) 51 C. The Forms of This Sickness (Despair) 58 FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE ON THE GENEALOGY OF MORALS First Essay: “Good and Evil,” “Good and Bad” 111 Second Essay: “Guilt,” “Bad Conscience,” and the Like 145 FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND Part I: Underground 193 THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV The Grand Inquisitor 231 MIGUEL DE UNAMUNO Y JUGO SAINT MANUEL BUENO, MARTYR 257 viii . Contents MARTIN HEIDEGGER BEING AND TIME The Possible Being-a-Whole of Da-sein and Being-Toward-Death 299 JEAN-PAUL SARTRE EXISTENTIALISM 341 BEING AND NOTHINGNESS Self-Negation 369 The Encounter with the Other 391 SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR THE ETHICS OF AMBIGUITY Ambiguity 413 ALBERT CAMUS THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS An Absurd Reasoning 441 The Myth of Sisyphus 489 RALPH ELLISON INVISIBLE MAN Prologue 495

About the Author :
Gordon Marino is professor of philosophy, Boldt Distinguished Chair in the Humanities, and director of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He was research fellow at the Kierkegaard Biblioteket in Copenhagen for three years. He is also co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard and author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age.

Review :
“Basic Writings of Existentialism will be, for many, a reminder of what first drew them to existentialism and, simply, to philosophy. Marino's introductory essays, taut, instructive, well-tuned to the drumbeat of each thinker's passions and concerns, and the substantial selections from the foremost representatives of the movement, are a benediction. In defiance of Hegel's pronouncements, the thinkers included here introduce us to a philosophy in present tense, and preferably in the active voice. Readers new to existentialism have as reliable a guide as the subject matter permits. Those familiar with movement have an occasion for recollection and more." —Vanessa Rumble, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Boston College ”This book is a perfect choice for all who wonder what existentialism is all about. The key writers are included -- Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky from the19th Century, and Heudegger, Sartre, and Camus, from the 20th Century. It's good to see selections from Simone de Beauvoir and Ralph Ellison, as well. Marino has a sharp eye for picking telling passages from often long and complex works. It's now clear that existentialism is one of the enduring traditions in Western Philosophy, Art, and Religion, a perspective that articulates and responds to the deepest human needs. These fresh selections lay out the issues, from alienation to reconciliation, from despair to joyful wisdom, that make this world-perspective so compelling. Marino's introductions to each writer, and his introductory overview, are lively and capture the spirit of the chosen texts. A profound adventure awaits those readers ready to immerse themselves in this jewel of a book.” —Edward F. Mooney, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Syracuse University "With superb selections and strongly supportive introductory biographies, this is in my judgment the best existentialism anthology out there." —Merold Westphal, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Fordham University