Kaufmann's anthology of existentialist texts with his own introductory essay — the definitive academic introduction to existentialism for a generation of English-speaking students.
Kaufmann's anthology defines the existentialist canon: Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Rilke, Kafka, Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus. His introductory essay argues that existentialism is not a school but a sensibility: a confrontation with human existence in its concreteness, anxiety, and freedom. The anthology's selections determined which texts American philosophy students read as 'existentialism' for decades.
Discussing
Ask anything about Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.
Sign in to start a conversation.