You read The Stranger and felt unsettled
You want to know what Camus was actually arguing.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
Existentialism explained in plain words
Understand what the existentialists argued about freedom, choice and meaning.
Start with the claim that existence precedes essence, then follow how Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus answered it in different ways. Each idea is tested on an ordinary choice, so you can see what the arguments say and where the thinkers disagree.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I keep hearing about existentialism and want to understand what Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus actually argued. I want to know what existence precedes essence means and whether any of it helps me think about my own choices.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Three things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Put the core claim in your own sentence
Existence precedes essence means you are not made to a plan the way a tool is; you become who you are through what you do. Sartre's own illustration was a paper knife, designed for cutting before it exists. Write the idea in one sentence of your own before reading further.
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Spot bad faith in an ordinary sentence
Take an illustrative line: 'I have no choice, I have to stay in this job.' Sartre would ask which part is a fact (the rent is due) and which is a choice presented as a fact (not looking for other work). Rewrite it as 'I am choosing to stay because...' and see whether the reasons still hold. This illustrates the idea; it is not career advice.
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Compare two answers to one question
Ask: what if nothing outside me gives my life its meaning? Kierkegaard answered with a personal leap of faith. Camus refused any leap and argued for living with the absurd in open revolt. Write one line on which answer you find more convincing, and one objection to it.
Sources: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: existentialism, including existence precedes essence and bad faith; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: existentialism and its main thinkers. Practical examples are starting points, not promised results.
- Best for
- Philosophy
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What brought you to existentialism: a book, a film, a hard stretch of life, or curiosity?
- Have you read any philosophy before, or is this your first?
- Is there a thinker or idea you most want to understand?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
The word gets used for any gloomy mood
You suspect the philosophy is more specific than that.
You are facing a big choice
You want to think about freedom and responsibility without being told what to pick.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Where existentialism came from
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and the questions they left for the twentieth century.
Existence precedes essence
What it means to say no fixed human nature decides who you are.
Freedom and bad faith
Sartre's claim that we are responsible for our choices, and the ways we pretend we are not.
The absurd
Camus on the clash between our demand for meaning and a silent world, and why he rejected despair.
Situation and other people
De Beauvoir on how freedom depends on circumstances and on other people's freedom.
Living with the questions
What the existentialists offer and where their critics think they go wrong.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Explain the core claim
Say what existence precedes essence means in plain words.
Tell the thinkers apart
Distinguish Kierkegaard's faith, Sartre's freedom, de Beauvoir's situation and Camus's absurd.
Apply the questions
Use the ideas to examine a real choice without treating them as a self-help formula.
Ideas this course corrects
Existentialism says life is meaningless, so nothing matters
Most existentialists start from the absence of a given meaning and argue that people still make meaning and remain responsible for what they do.
Existentialism is one agreed doctrine
The label covers thinkers who disagreed sharply, religious and atheist alike. Camus, among others, rejected the label for himself.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Existentialism explained in plain words: what can I do today?
Put the core claim in your own sentence. Existence precedes essence means you are not made to a plan the way a tool is; you become who you are through what you do. Sartre's own illustration was a paper knife, designed for cutting before it exists. Write the idea in one sentence of your own before reading further. Spot bad faith in an ordinary sentence. Take an illustrative line: 'I have no choice, I have to stay in this job.' Sartre would ask which part is a fact (the rent is due) and which is a choice presented as a fact (not looking for other work). Rewrite it as 'I am choosing to stay because...' and see whether the reasons still hold. This illustrates the idea; it is not career advice. Compare two answers to one question. Ask: what if nothing outside me gives my life its meaning? Kierkegaard answered with a personal leap of faith. Camus refused any leap and argued for living with the absurd in open revolt. Write one line on which answer you find more convincing, and one objection to it.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
Start with the claim that existence precedes essence, then follow how Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus answered it in different ways. Each idea is tested on an ordinary choice, so you can see what the arguments say and where the thinkers disagree. It sits under Philosophy in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I keep hearing about existentialism and want to understand what Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus actually argued. I want to know what existence precedes essence means and whether any of it helps me think about my own choices.