What does it mean to become human? If the human condition involves struggling with authenticity, passion and meaninglessness, what does it mean to help patients address these and other existential issues in a psychoanalytic practice?

After a brief introduction to definitions of existentialism, the themes of existentialism will be explored by primarily focusing on the writings of Camus, Sartre, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Nietzsche. The works of Dostoevsky and Kafka and will also be considered.

The point of this course will be for clinicians to understand what these existential writers are saying and their relevance to our daily work. A basic understanding of psychoanalytic principles will be assumed in the interest of time.

Available for distance learning; details HERE.

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Objectives:

Class 1

• Delineate the definition of existentialism, who the existentialists are, and why are they categorized as such.
• Describe the themes of existentialism.
• Describe why Kierkegaard is considered the first existentialist, and what he has to say about the individual and passion.

 

Class 2

• Define what Camus says about absurdity, meaninglessness and death.
• Delineate Sartre’s idea about ‘the dizziness of freedom,’ and where he departs from the psychoanalytic tradition?

 

Class 3

• Describe why Heidegger’s concepts of being and time are important to existentialism and psychoanalysis.
• Define what his idea of ‘throwness’ means.
• Articulate what Nietzsche has to say about passion and freedom.

 

Course Level: Advanced

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