The Rebel (book) Vintage International's 1991 reissue of Anthony Bower's translation of The Rebel. The Rebel (French title: L'Homme révolté) is a 1951 book-length essay by Albert Camus, which treats both the metaphysical and the historical development of rebellion and revolution in societies, especially Western Europe. Camus relates writers and artists as diverse as Epicurus and Lucretius, Marquis de Sade, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Stirner, André Breton, and others in an integrated, historical portrait of man in revolt. Examining both rebellion and revolt, which may be seen as the same phenomenon in personal and social frames, Camus examines several 'countercultural' figures and movements from the history of Western thought and art, noting the importance of each in the overall development of revolutionary thought and philosophy. One of Camus' primary arguments in The Rebel concerns the motivation for rebellion and revolution.
Existentialism Existentialism is a term applied to the work of certain late 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences,[1][2][3] shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual.[4] In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.[5] Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.[6][7] Definitional issues and background[edit] There has never been general agreement on the definition of existentialism. The term is often seen as an historical convenience as it was first applied to many philosophers in hindsight, long after they had died. Concepts[edit] The Absurd[edit]
Man's Search for Meaning According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, Man's Search For Meaning belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in the United States."[1] At the time of the author's death in 1997, the book had sold over 10 million copies and had been translated into 24 languages.[2][3] Editions[edit] The book's title in the German language was ...trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen: Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager, and the title of the first English language translation was From Death-Camp to Existentialism. Experiences in a concentration camp[edit] Frankl concludes that the meaning of life is found in every moment of living; life never ceases to have meaning, even in suffering and death. An example of Frankl's idea of finding meaning in the midst of extreme suffering is found in his account of an experience he had while working in the harsh conditions of the Auschwitz concentration camp: ... Quotations[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
One-Dimensional Man One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society is a 1964 book by philosopher Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse offers a wide-ranging critique of both contemporary capitalism and the Communist society of the Soviet Union, documenting the parallel rise of new forms of social repression in both these societies, as well as the decline of revolutionary potential in the West. He argues that "advanced industrial society" created false needs, which integrated individuals into the existing system of production and consumption via mass media, advertising, industrial management, and contemporary modes of thought.[1] This results in a "one-dimensional" universe of thought and behaviour, in which aptitude and ability for critical thought and oppositional behaviour wither away. Major themes[edit] In a letter to the New York Review of Books, Georg H. Consumerism as a form of social control[edit] Marcuse strongly criticizes consumerism, arguing that it is a form of social control.
Categories (Aristotle) The text begins with an explication of what is meant by "synonymous," or univocal words, what is meant by "homonymous," or equivocal words, and what is meant by "paronymous," or denominative (sometimes translated "derivative") words. It then divides forms of speech as being: Either simple, without composition or structure, such as "man," "horse," "fights," etc.Or having composition and structure, such as "a man fights," "the horse runs," etc. Only composite forms of speech can be true or false. Next, he distinguishes between what is said "of" a subject and what is "in" a subject. Of all the things that exist, Some may be predicated of a subject, but are in no subject; as man may be predicated of James or John, but is not in any subject.Some are in a subject, but cannot be predicated of any subject. Then we come to the categories themselves, whose definitions depend upon these four forms of predication.[2][3] Aristotle's own text in Ackrill's standard English version is:[4][5]
Growing block universe According to the growing block universe theory of time (or simply the growing block view), the past and present exist and the future does not exist. The present is an objective property, to be compared with a moving spotlight. By the passage of time more of the world comes into being, therefore the block universe is said to be growing. The Growing Block View is an alternative to both Eternalism (according to which past, present and future all exist) and Presentism (according to which only the present exists). Criticism[edit] Recently several philosophers, David Braddon-Mitchell (2004), Craig Bourne and Trenton Merricks have said that if the Growing Block View is correct we have to say that we don't know whether now is now. Take Socrates discussing, in the past, with Gorgias, and at the same time thinking that this (the discussion) is occurring now. However, some have argued that there is an ontological distinction between the past and the present. See also[edit] References[edit] C.
Existentialism and Humanism Existentialism and Humanism (French: L'existentialisme est un humanisme) is a 1946 philosophical work by Jean-Paul Sartre. It is widely considered one of the defining texts of the Existentialist movement. The book is based on a lecture that Sartre gave at Club Maintenant in Paris, on October 29, 1945, which was also called "Existentialism is a Humanism". Overview[edit] In his essay, Sartre asserts that the key defining concept of existentialism is that the existence of a person is prior to his or her essence. Criticism[edit] The essay has been criticized by philosopher Thomas C. References[edit] Jump up ^ Foundation and Structure of Sartrean Ethics By Thomas C. Sources[edit] Jean-Paul Sartre, L'existentialisme est un Humanisme, Éditions Nagel, Paris, 1946, ISBN 2-07-032913-5 (1996 ed., Gallimard)Jean-Paul Sartre (tr. External links[edit]
Gödel metric The Gödel metric is an exact solution of the Einstein field equations in which the stress–energy tensor contains two terms, the first representing the matter density of a homogeneous distribution of swirling dust particles, and the second associated with a nonzero cosmological constant (see lambdavacuum solution). It is also known as the Gödel solution. This solution has many strange properties, discussed below, in particular the existence of closed timelike curves which would allow for a form of time travel in the type of universe described by the solution. The solution was found in 1949 by Kurt Gödel. Definition[edit] Like any other Lorentzian spacetime, the Gödel solution is defined by giving the metric tensor in terms of some local coordinate chart. where is a nonzero real constant, which turns out to be the angular velocity around the y axis, as measured by a "non-spinning" observer riding any one of the dust grains, of the surrounding dust grains. . Properties[edit] . Topology[edit] .
The Sickness Unto Death The Sickness Unto Death (Danish Sygdommen til Døden) is a book written by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in 1849 under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus. A work of Christian existentialism, the book is about Kierkegaard's concept of despair, which he equates with the Christian concept of sin, particularly original sin. Summary[edit] Anti-Climacus introduces the book with a reference to Gospel of John 11.4: "This sickness is not unto death." To not be in despair is to have reconciled the finite with the infinite, to exist in awareness of one's own self and of God. Relation to other works[edit] The Sickness Unto Death has strong existentialist themes. Some have suggested that the opening of the book is an elaborate parody of the often bafflingly cryptic philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Hegel; however, some scholars, such as Gregor Malantschuk, have suggested otherwise (Armed Neutrality and An Open Letter, Simon and Schuster, 1969, pp. 65–6 and n. 7 on pp. 165–6). In popular culture[edit]