March 30, 2007

Existentialism's Call to Action

To the Editor:

Kudos to Robert C. Solomon, my dear late colleague down here in Texas, who rightly points out the true spirit of existentialism ("Pessimism vs. Existentialism," The Chronicle Review, January 26).

Two years ago, I taught a 12-week continuing-studies course in existentialism to about 50 adults. We read selections from all the big names: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Dostoevsky. After we cracked the code of the dense language and the abstract