LFU:online

After participating in this course, you will have got to know fundamental ideas of existential philosophy. You will have looked at them from a psychological perspective, and got to know ways of testing philosophical assumptions empirically. Based on the psychological integration of philosophical deliberation, you will have developed a personal standpoint with regard to issues such as dying and death, meaning in life, and world-view.

Existential Psychology draws on philosophical works by, e.g., Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger,  and Camus. Its core assumption is that there are 'basic givens' in life; these are the necessity of death, freedom of decision and ensuing responsibility, the question of meaning of and in life, etc. Ludwig Binswanger, Rollo May and Irvin Yalom are influential early existential psychologists. They mainly worked phenomenologically. Today's 'new' existential psychology endorses a falsification approach. It conducts empirical research by testing hypotheses, even employing experimental study designs. In this course, we will work on early and contemporary theories, integrating both philosophy and psychology. Together, we will develop ideas for empirical and experimental approaches to existential subjects.

Various ways of considering existential questions will be employed in this course. Participants are expected to prepare the sessions individually, to work on their own as well as in groups. We will conduct plenary discussions and short lectures on diverse topics. It is assumed that participants are willing and able to contemplate philosophical texts. Critical reflexion and a development of a personal standpoint are expected and supported.

Active participation, preparation of a short lecture or other kind of contribution, and writing of a final written statement

Flynn, T. R. (2013). Existentialismus: Eine kurze Einführung. Turia + Kant. (o. englische Originalversion, Oxford University Press). Oder auch: Panza, C., & Gale, G. (2009). Existentialism for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing.