Episode #103 - Sartre and Camus Pt. 4 - The Quest For Certainty
Episode #103 - Sartre and Camus Pt. 4 - The Quest For Certainty
This episode explores the philosophical journey from Descartes to Sartre, tracing how the modern quest for certainty evolved into a deeper inquiry into human consciousness and existence. It begins with Descartes’ attempt to ground knowledge in clear and distinct ideas, introducing a rigorous method aimed at eliminating philosophical speculation. Kant challenges Descartes by arguing that our minds actively shape experience, setting the stage for idealism. As skepticism about reason and universal truths grows, thinkers like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche shift focus toward individual experience. Husserl responds by founding phenomenology, emphasizing the structures of consciousness while distinguishing between the scientific “natural attitude” and the philosophical “phenomenological attitude.” Sartre, influenced by both Husserl and Heidegger, rejects the idea of consciousness as a passive container and instead sees it as dynamic, intentional, and inseparable from the world. He questions the philosophical tendency to explain individuals through abstract categories, emphasizing instead lived experience, freedom, and responsibility—laying the groundwork for existentialism.
Further Reading:
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell (2016)
Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy by William Barrett (1958)
A Companion to Phenomenology and Existentialism by Hubert L. Dreyfus and Mark A. Wrathall (2006)
See the full transcript here.
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