Our list of some of the best Existentialism books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- Existentialism (2004)
- Basic Writings of Existentialism (Modern Library Classics) (2004)
- Existentialism Is a Humanism (2007)
- Existentialism: An Introduction (2014)
- The Cambridge Companion to Existentialism (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) (2012)
- Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) (2001)
- Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, Revised and Expanded Edition (1975)
- At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others (2017)
- Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction (2006)
- Existentialism: A Beginner’s Guide (Beginner’s Guides) (2008)
- Existentialism For Dummies (2008)
- Existentialism and Romantic Love (2015)
- Existentialism For Beginners (2008)
Existentialism (2004)
Existentialism, 2/e, offers an exceptional and accessible introduction to the richness and diversity of existentialist thought. Retaining the focus of the highly successful first edition, the second edition provides extensive material on the “big four” existentialists–Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre–while also including selections from twenty-four other authors.
Basic Writings of Existentialism (Modern Library Classics) (2004)
Basic Writings of Existentialism, unique to the Modern Library, presents the writings of key nineteenth- and twentieth-century thinkers broadly united by their belief that because life has no inherent meaning humans can discover, we must determine meaning for ourselves. This anthology brings together into one volume the most influential and commonly taught works of existentialism.
Existentialism Is a Humanism (2007)
It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominent European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time.
Existentialism: An Introduction (2014)
Existentialism: An Introduction provides an accessible and scholarly introduction to the core ideas of the existentialist tradition. Kevin Aho draws on a wide range of existentialist thinkers in chapters centering on the key themes of freedom, being-in-the-world, alienation, nihilism, anxiety and authenticity.
The Cambridge Companion to Existentialism (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) (2012)
Existentialism exerts a continuing fascination on students of philosophy and general readers. As a philosophical phenomenon, though, it is often poorly understood, as a form of radical subjectivism that turns its back on reason and argumentation and possesses all the liabilities of philosophical idealism but without any idealistic conceptual clarity.
Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) (2001)
"An invaluable source for undergraduate courses in continental philosophy." –Giovanna Borradori, Vassar College
Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, Revised and Expanded Edition (1975)
Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre provides basic writings of Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Rilke, Kafka, Ortega, Jaspers, Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus, including some not previously translated, along with an invaluable introductory essay by Walter Kaufmann.
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others (2017)
Paris, 1933: three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called Phenomenology.
Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction (2006)
One of the leading philosophical movements of the twentieth century, existentialism has had more impact on literature and the arts than any other school of thought.
Existentialism: A Beginner’s Guide (Beginner’s Guides) (2008)
Existentialism pervades modern culture, yet if you ask most people what it means, they won’t be able to tell you. In this lively and topical introduction, Wartenberg reveals a vibrant mode of philosophical inquiry that addresses concerns at the heart of the existence of every human being.
Existentialism For Dummies (2008)
Have you ever wondered what the phrase “God is dead” means? You’ll find out in Existentialism For Dummies, a handy guide to Nietzsche, Sartre, and Kierkegaard’s favorite philosophy. See how existentialist ideas have influenced everything from film and literature to world events and discover whether or not existentialism is still relevant today.
Existentialism and Romantic Love (2015)
This book is an existential study of romantic loving. It draws on five existential philosophers to offer insights into what is wrong with our everyday ideas about romantic loving, why reality often falls short of the ideal, sources of frustrations and disappointments, and possibilities for creating authentically meaningful relationships.
Existentialism For Beginners (2008)
Existentialism For Beginners is an entertaining romp through the history of a philosophical movement that has had a broad and enduring influence on Western culture. From the middle of the Nineteenth Century through the late Twentieth Century, existentialism informed our politics and art, and still exerts its influence today.
Best Existentialism Books You Must Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some existentialism books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Evolutionary Metaphors: UFOs, New Existentialism and the Future Paradigm
Author(s): David J. Moore
ID: 2402707, Publisher: 6th Books, Year: 31 May 2019, Size: 596 Kb, Format: epub
Idealism after Existentialism: Encounters in Philosophy of Religion
Author(s): N. N. Trakakis
ID: 3664560, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2023, Size: 1 Mb, Format: pdf
Black Nihilism and Antiblack Racism
Author(s): Devon R Johnson; Lewis R Gordon
ID: 3215066, Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Year: 2021, Size: 334 Kb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not final. Some books are absolutely hot items according to The Wall Street Journal, others are composed by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.