Existentialism and the Authentic Life

By: Skye C. Cleary, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Skye C. Cleary

“What’s the point of it all?” Most of us have asked ourselves that question at one time or another. The philosophers known as the existentialists certainly did—and for the same reasons you might: war, love, politics, racism, mortality, and more. Luckily for us, they did not just ask the questions. Sartre, Beauvoir, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Fanon, and others also came up with some answers, ideas, and suggestions we can apply to our own lives today.

In the 24 fascinating lectures of Existentialism and the Authentic Life, Professor Skye C. Cleary will lead you through the writings of many existentialists to help you understand how they addressed the biggest of all questions. Writing about love, death, sex, war, plagues, intrigue, murder, deception, and more, these thinkers guide you toward living an authentic and meaningful life in a world that often seems absurd.

In this course, you’ll learn about the main issues addressed by existentialism. These include:

• Anxiety. In many ways, anxiety, choice, and freedom go hand in hand. When you realize that you are in charge of your one and only finite life, anxiety can certainly come into play.

• Freedom. The existentialists did not believe in absolute freedom. You are not free to do anything you want, for example, if you don’t have the power or if your actions harm others. However, you do have the freedom to make your own path in this life and to choose your own actions within limits.

• Responsibility. With that freedom comes responsibility, and not just responsibility for yourself. Being authentic means that you have a responsibility to support others in pursuing their authentic paths.

In Existentialism and the Authentic Life, discover how the existentialists can guide you in answering life’s most pressing questions for yourself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 The Great Courses (P)2024 The Teaching Company, LLC

Good Overview of Existentialism with a Leftist Bias

This does explore existentialism with its major themes. Authenticity, self, and being. It is a mere introduction to these ideas, but a helpful orientation to the ideas even if not in depth. It also gives brief, but helpful bios on the essential authors of the movement.

The foundations of the movement are inadequately handled. It doesn’t go much into what forces gave rise to the movement or the philosophical problems they were hoping to solve.

The last third of the book was circling the drain of the most base desires of perverted individuals, giving much attention to promiscuity, abortion, suicide, and parenting by a person who had no experience with parenting. None of it was helpful except in showing yet one more errant view of the world. The narcissistic self-interest of Sartre and his lover shine through in all their darkness while the author/lecturer defends their positions. I don’t doubt that this narcissism is part of existentialism, but it’s not a virtue, and not worthy of as much attention as is given relative to the rest of existentialist contributions.

The recording with a female voice made it difficult to hear with the road noise because it is the same pitch as the road noise.

Friendly presentation

I didn't like this so much. I get that Cleary is trying to give a light introduction to some of these themes but I don't think she gauged well, what is important to include to keep it fascinating. So many of the deeper meanings of the works she discussed are brushed over or not even mentioned. The great course on existentialism by Robert Solomon is far better.

Not for me

It might be a matter of taste, but I did not find this book interesting or informative. Not my style of storytelling.