The Primer Home Page
clarifying nothing since 1996
Since 1996, The Existential Primer has provided a basic
introduction to existentialism and the related Continental philosophies.
Since the 1950s philosophy has been divided into analytic schools, focused
on language and communication, and the metaphysical approaches of Continental
schools.
Existentialism attempts to describe our desire to make
rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. Unfortunately,
life might be without inherent meaning (existential atheists) or it might
be without a meaning we can understand (existential theists). Either way,
the human desires for logic and immortality are futile. We are forced to
define our own meanings, knowing they might be temporary. In this existence…
The Individual Defines Everything.
Analytical Philosophy
Science has always been important to philosophers, with
the first philosophers being scholars in many fields. The theological and
metaphysical aspects of “truth” were also important to philosophers.
Then came the industrial revolution and a shift towards analytical philosophy:
searching for truth without considering the transcendent.
Some texts suggest the analytic movement began with Ludwig
Josef Johan Wittgenstein (1889–1951), an Austrian-born philosopher who
lived and taught in Britain. Wittgenstein influenced logical positivism,
linguistic analysis, and semiotics.
Experiential Philosophy
Continental philosophy might be viewed as a reaction
to the analytical, scientific approach to philosophy. Continental philosophers
adhere to the importance of the individual, while analytic schools of thought
tend to study groups and interactions. This is not to claim that phenomenology
and existentialism are not concerned with groups and social philosophy,
but there is a clear belief that the individual can define the self.
Continental movements are sometimes referred to as experiential because
they are concerned with the experiences of the individual. How one person
experiences life is unique. Relating to others is possible, but only within
the limits of shared experiences.
Much of The Existential Primer content has been reviewed
by authors, journalists, and professors with expertise. However, neither
I nor these experts can or should tell anyone what thinkers of the past
“really meant” in particular works. Please learn more about
The Existential Primer, but do not assume anything you read here is
more than a shallow introduction to the thinkers profiled.
Do
not use this site as a study guide. The incomplete nature
of this Web site might result in misunderstanding the profiled individuals.
The pages are sometimes posted unedited or appear in outline form.
These documents contain excerpts from the works of others. Read
their books.
NOTE: Citations are not in MLA or APA format to prevent
“borrowing” from this site. Included passages are in the format Work;
Author, p. Page, with full citations at the end of each Web page.
The Existential Primer will expand and improve as long
as I am alive and able to type. Since I’m not yet 40, that should be another
50 years of more of editing, revision, and expansion.
- 1 July 2008
- All major bibliographies are updated to reflect my newest book
purchases and discoveries. Some are not available online, not even
from used bookstores I checked… but I did my best to link the
sources to Amazon.
- 25 June 2008
- The Existential Primer has been converted to a template-based
CSS design. It took over a month, but migration will make future revisions
to the site much easier. Only a single file needs to be changed to
update the site, thanks to the conditional formatting of Dreamweaver.
I am thrilled to return to editing content.
- 17 June 2008
- The Primer Forums are
now back online. However, old posts were purged due to the amount of
spam. Our primary online community is a Yahoo
Group mailing list.
- 16 June 2008
- The redesign has not been applied to every page, which is
a time-consuming process at the moment. The pages that have been updated:
-
- 20 May 2008
- The most extreme redesign of The Existential Primer since 1996 has
been started. Using Dreamweaver templates, CSS, and the Spry AJAX library,
the new site will be easier to navigate. This redesign should be completed
by the end of May 2008.
Page ‘Placeholders’ Created
In response to visitor questions and requests, I do plan
to add more biographies and criticisms — after I finish what I consider
to be the primary pages. The placeholder pages created include: Karl
Barth, Martin Buber, Viktor
Frankl, Rollo May, Paul
Tillich and several others. Please be patient while I continue efforts
to complete “first drafts” of other pages.
