Philosophy 255 - Existentialism

Modernity has brought with it scientific and technological wonders, but it has also uprooted millennia-old convictions about God, morality, and humanity's place in the universe. In a secular society, how should we choose which values to adopt, or what path in life we should follow? How can we be authentic or true to ourselves in a culture that rewards conformity? What, moreover, is the meaning of life? Existentialism, a philosophical movement that flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, is unique in trying to provide answers to these questions. Readings are drawn both from philosophical works and from existentialist authors like Kafka, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy.