
Philosophy, the Sartre blend: uncovering the birth of existentialism - lermontov
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2016/09/philosophy-sartre-blend-uncovering-birth-existentialism
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cake_42
Also not for nothing, but Kiregaard is really the father of existentialism

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nappy
I didn't realize he was considered an existentialist, actually. I thought he
was considered more of a godfather type figure, like Iggy Pop and punk music.
Thanks for the comment, enjoyed reading through Kierkegaard's Wikipedia page.

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joe_the_user
_"...What is shown by the crowds that lined the Boulevard du Montparnasse to
catch a glimpse of Sartre’s hearse is not something about France, but
something about Sartre in his own right, something that demands explanation.
Why were so many people drawn to him? Why did he matter to so many?

"For Sarah Bakewell, the answer lies in the peculiar appeal, and the
timeliness, of the philosophy that he espoused: existentialism. "_

I have to disagree. Not that Existentialism is unimportant but I would assert
that it was "something about France" in the sense that philosophers are highly
respected and that they essentially are public figures akin to celebrities.

You could even say it shows "something about America" (or England) that other
countries respecting philosophers as much as we respect reality TV show stars
is considered strange and needing of explanation.

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dschiptsov
Existialism, obviously, has been around long before Sartre in Eastern
(originally Indian) philosophy and partially in the philosophy of
Schopenhauer.

Actually, what Sartre called existentialism is the Asian way of life, at least
in societies influenced by the original Hindu philosophy (Upanishads) and its
Buddhist derivatives and finally the Gita.

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llamaz
Sartre did not consider himself an existentialist, in the same sense as
Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Kierkegaarde. He considered himself an absurdist,
whatever that means. Also, Nietzsche was explicitly opposed to bhuddism,
although this was most likely based on a flawed understanding of bhuddism, as
was common at the time.

I'm basing all of this on memory of something I've read long ago, but with
enough google fu you might be able to find the references for these claims.

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nappy
I thought Sartre considered himself an existentialist and Camus was an
absurdist.

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llamaz
no you're right, I was thinking of Camus. The lineage is Schopenhauer ->
Nietzsche -> Heidegger -> Sartre, with Camus and Kierkegaarde by themselves.

Some criticism: Sartre isn't as respected as the others in academic philosophy
(in popular culture, it's another story). Heidegger was an unrepentant Nazi
who turned on his Jewish mentor after Hitler came to power, and Schopenhauer
was considered a hypocrite by Bertrand Russell.

Nietzsche is clean, and pretty much practiced what he preached.

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qwertyuiop924
Don't worry, everybody, I have a super-soaker.

...I have nothing to apologize for.

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llamaz
Good obscure xkcd reference

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qwertyuiop924
Obscure? That's easily one of the most famous strips ever, right behind sudo.

