Name: Why are you alive? - Key Existential ideas
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Created byKarim Benammar, Ph.D.

Last updated 5/2020

English

What you'll learn

Start turning your life into a work of art
Practice key ideas from Existential philosophy
Understand key ideas from Existential philosophers
Find your own personal purpose

Course content

11 sections • 38 lectures • 2h 25m total length

How to live2:39
Why are you alive? Find out about the two key questions in your life: How to make a living and How to live.
How to live - text1:38

Fear and Laziness4:20
Fear and laziness are two things which keep us from living the life that we want to live, according to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Find out how to choose your own path to live an "authentic" life. The exercise asks you to examine the role of fear and laziness in your own decisions.
Fear and laziness - exercise0:27
Friedrich Nietzsche - Life and Work6:09
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Friedrich Nietzsche's life, his main books, and his core ideas. After watching, you should have an understanding of who he was, what he thought, and why it matters to us as we try to give shape to our own lives.

Abundance5:01
Living from a position of abundance is very different than living from a position of scarcity, Abundance is one of the reasons that we have to give shape to our lives. Can you make the shift from what you take to what you give? How could that affect the way you live?
Georges Bataille - Life and work5:23
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Georges Bataille's life, his main books, his core ideas of surplus expenditure and the "Accursed share". After watching, you should have an understanding of who he was, what he thought, and why it matters to us for our understanding of abundance and the surplus of energy we have at our disposal in our lives.
Abundance - text2:56
Abundance - exercise0:18

Meaning and the Absurd6:53
What if there is no deeper meaning to our existence? The philosopher Albert Camus thought that this was the case, and he called our desire for meaning absurd.Find out how you can use the absurd to live a life of passion and to be proud of being human.
Albert Camus - Life and work10:34
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Albert Camus' life, his main books, and two of his core ideas: the absurd hero and rebellion. After watching, you should have an understanding of who he was, what he thought, and why it matters to us as we try to give shape to our own lives.
Meaning and the Absurd - text3:12
Rebellion against Corona - Lessons from The Plague14:08
How can we deal with the Corona pandemic, with endless quarantine and uncertainty? Lessons from Albert Camus' novel The Plague, his philosophy of absurdity and rebellion, and his emphasis on solidarity and passion, to inspire and encourage us in hard times.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL COURSE AND CONTAINS SIGNIFICANT OVERLAP WITH SECTION 6 ON CAMUS.
Meaning and the Absurd - exercise0:12

Radical freedom6:19
We are radically free, and radically responsible, according to philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Find out how you can live a life without excuses.
Jean-Paul Sartre - Life and work7:06
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Jean-Paul Sartre's life, his main books, and two of his core ideas: existentialism and "bad faith". After watching, you should have an understanding of who he was, what he thought, and why it matters to us as we shape our lives through our actions.
Radical freedom - text5:54
Radical freedom - exercise0:11

Life as a work of art5:22
According to Foucault, we should be able to turn our lives into a work of art. Find out why this matters and how to go about doing it.
Michel Foucault - Life and work3:03
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Michel Foucault's life and his main books. After watching, you should have an understanding of who he was and what he thought.
Michel Foucault - Power/Knowledge3:48
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Michel Foucault's core idea of Power/Knowledge. After watching, you should have an understanding of why this matters to us to question forms of dominance as we engage in freedom as practice.
Michel Foucault - The care of the Self6:42
In this narrated slideshow, you will learn about Michel Foucault's core idea about the care of the Self. After watching, you should have an understanding of why this matters to us when we engage in freedom as practice to turn our lives into a work of art.
Life as a work of art - exercise0:20

Requirements

Just bring your curiosity

Description

Why are you alive? How should you live? How can you turn your life into a work of art? How can you live an authentic life - that is, live the life that you were meant to live?

If you have ever posed yourself these kinds of questions, you're in good company. Philosophers known as "Existentialists" have posed these questions about our own lives and developed some very useful theories and practices around them.

This course examines key ideas from the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Georges Bataille and Michel Foucault, giving you a clear and simple explanation of their main ideas about the central questions we have about the meaning of our lives.

In this course you will learn to examine your life and the choices you make from the standpoint of key concepts such as freedom, meaning, and community. You will learn to design and implement thw kind of projects that give meaning to your life.

The course consists of:

11 thematic videos on giving shape to your life (2-5 minutes),
7 narrated powerpoint videos on the life and work of existentialist philosophers (3-10 mins)
a series of exercises for you to try out in your daily life

Who this course is for:

If you have asked yourself what the meaning of life is, and what your own life is for, then this course is for you. If you are allergic to philosophical ideas, you might like to skip it.

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

How to live2 lectures • 4min

Fear and Laziness3 lectures • 11min

The eternal return3 lectures • 6min

Abundance4 lectures • 14min

Meaning and the Absurd5 lectures • 35min

Radical freedom4 lectures • 20min

Freedom as practice3 lectures • 11min

Community3 lectures • 7min

Projects3 lectures • 12min

Life as a work of art5 lectures • 19min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: