Existentialism

A Very Short Introduction

By: Thomas Flynn

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

One of the leading philosophical movements of the 20th century, existentialism has had more impact on literature and the arts than any other school of thought. Focusing on the leading figures of existentialism, including Sartre, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, and Camus, Thomas Flynn offers a concise account of existentialism, explaining the key themes of individuality, free will, and personal responsibility, which marked the movement as a way of life, not just a way of thinking.

Flynn sets the philosophy of existentialism in context, from the early phenomenologists, to its rise in the '40s and '50s, and the connections with national socialism, communism, and feminism. He identifies the original definition of "existentialism," which tends to be obscured by misappropriation, and highlights how the philosophy is still relevant in our world today.

©2006 Thomas Flynn (P)2021 Tantor

Aesthetic is not Pronounced Aestetic

The narrator had a clear, steady voice marred by rare mispronunciations. The performance was somewhat monotone, but it's a philosophy text, so that's not shocking.

The content itself was rather academic and didn't give me a clear understanding of how existentialism would change a person. I found the book easy to tune out and hard to remember. It wasn't terrible; I might give it another listen at some point to see if I pick up more.

NOT an Intro to.

I gave this (audio) book a one star review for one reason and one reason only. And that reason is because it is written as an extremely intellectual and deep dive into Existentialism. And a very well written and researched one at that. But this is Supposed to be a very short INTRO to Existentialism. Not an extremely intellectual and deep dive into Existentialism. For someone that has no clue whatsoever what Existentialism is, they will come away from listening to (or reading) this book only very slightly better informed. Because it's like listening to a very knowledgeable professor speaking to his class of individuals working on their masters in Philosophy. Not for someone that wants a very brief intro to the subject. Again, it's not a bad book. On the contrary. But it's writing style and info in tries to convey and the title of the book are as far apart as can be.