Our Next Walkthrough Text

Action Required: Subscriber Poll for Choosing our Next Text

My family moved—again—this past weekend, and I did not have any time in front of a computer screen.

Later this week, I will post another instalment in our paid Existentialism series. But there will not be a regular walkthrough post until later.

The timing of this pause feels right, since we have just finished Heidegger’s “Memorial Address,” and I have been wondering which text we should explore next.

I have several texts in mind. And I have my own rationale for each of these. Below is a breakdown of each text.

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Below the breakdowns is a poll—please vote for your pick.

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1. Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus

   1. Influence: This is perhaps the most popular existentialism text today.

   2. Difficulty: But it is difficult to read, largely because it is truly a masterwork and requires the reader to change their perspective to understand it.

   3. Rationale: As my post later this week will explain, I read this text as something of a meditation on presence after the breakdown of traditional sources of meaning. So this text would continue to develop the themes of meaning and presence that we saw emerge in Heidegger’s “Memorial Address”—but of course from Camus’ unique perspective.

   4. Accessibility: This text is widely available (free and paid).

   5. Length: A very short book.

2. Emmanuel Levinas’ “On Escape”

   1. Influence: Not well known. But anticipates and summarizes much of Levinas’ later major works.

   2. Difficulty: This text is moderately difficult for newcomers, but relatively more straightforward than Levinas’ other work.

   3. Rationale: Levinas perhaps offered the most profound critique of Heidegger’s thought. It too dug deep into presence, but to show that it can be suffocating. That there is need for escape from it—into the transcendence of the Other (e.g., God). So this will serve as a critical counterpoint to the theme of presence we found in Heidegger’s work.

   4. Accessibility: This text is available for purchase.

   5. Length: A long essay.

3. Friedrich Nietzsche’s “The Madman”:

   1. Influence: Perhaps one of the most infamous, misunderstood pieces of philosophy of all time.

   2. Difficulty: Relatively less difficult.

   3. Rationale: At this particular point—mostly practical. It is a very short work that can serve as a transition to during the latter half of summer holidays and

   4. Accessibility: Widely accessible (free and paid).

   5. Length: a long paragraph.

4. Martin Heidegger “Plato’s Doctrine of Truth”

   1. Influence: Not widely known, though important amongst those influenced by Heidegger.

   2. Difficulty: Relatively difficult.

   3. Rationale: Provides a summary of Heidegger’s reading of Plato’s cave analogy, and Heidegger’s view of truth and untruth.

   4. Accessibility: Widely available (free and paid).

   5. Length: a moderately long essay.

5. None of the above

   1. Make your own suggestion for the next reading (or a future reading) in the comments of this post, and why you’d like to explore it.

Looking forward to seeing what you all think!