Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Existentialists

Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the subjective experience of thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence.

9 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

CulturePhilosophyOntologistsSocial philosophersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of literaturePhilosophers of mindTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changeMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEpistemologistsAphoristsCritics of the Catholic ChurchWriters about religion and scienceAtheist philosophersGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of law20th-century atheistsNobel laureates in LiteraturePhilosophers of social science19th-century German male writers19th-century German philosophersChristian humanistsMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of psychologyUniversity of Paris alumniWriters from Paris20th-century French philosophersFrench atheistsFrench political philosophersGerman male essayistsGerman philosophers of historyGerman political philosophersPhilosophers of lovePhilosophers of sexualityChristian radicalsCritics of work and the work ethicGerman philosophers of artGerman philosophers of culturePeople celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendarPhilosophers of artPolitical philosophers19th-century pseudonymous writers20th-century essayistsAlumni of Trinity College DublinAnalytic philosophersAnti-consumeristsBurials at Père Lachaise CemeteryChristian ethicistsCritics of religionsFormer Roman CatholicsFrench philosophers of educationFrench philosophers of scienceFrench women philosophersGerman ethicists, German philosophers of educationIrish male dramatists and playwrightsJewish agnosticsMarxist theoristsModernist writersPhilosophers of technology19th-century German male musicians19th-century male writers20th-century French novelists20th-century German philosophersAnti-nationalistsChristian poetsFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of cultureFrench philosophers of historyFrench socialistsHeidelberg University alumniIrish expatriates in FranceIrony theoristsLegion of Honour refusalsLeipzig University alumniPhenomenologistsPhilosophers of deathPhilosophers of warWomen religious writersÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni19th-century German non-fiction writers20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Irish male writers, 20th-century Irish poetsAmerican political philosophersBisexual novelistsCritical theoristsFrench LGBTQ novelistsFrench Nobel laureatesFrench epistemologistsFrench feministsFrench literary criticsFrench philosophers of artFrench sociologistsFrench women novelistsGerman critics of ChristianityGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionIrish male novelistsLibertarian socialistsMembers of the American Academy of Arts and LettersPhilosophers of pessimismScholars of feminist philosophy19th-century American philosophers19th-century German novelists19th-century deaths from tuberculosis19th-century essayists20th-century French women writersAbsurdist writersAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceAction theoristsAmerican philosophers of educationAmerican philosophers of religionBisexual memoiristsBlind writersBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryDeterministsExilliteratur writersFrench Resistance membersFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascistsFrench bisexual women, French bisexual writersFrench communistsFrench humanistsGerman Ashkenazi JewsGerman agnosticsGerman epistemologistsGerman women philosophersIrish Nobel laureates, Irish modernist poetsJerusalem Prize recipientsJewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United StatesLycée Henri-IV alumniLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniPeople associated with the University of BaselPeople from the Province of SaxonyPhilosophers of timePrix Italia winnersScholars of Trinity College DublinSocialist feministsStateless peopleWriters from Dublin (city)19th-century American writers19th-century German journalists19th-century Prussian people20th-century American essayists20th-century American philosophers20th-century American women writers20th-century French dramatists and playwrights20th-century French essayists, 20th-century French short story writers20th-century French male writers20th-century French memoirists20th-century German non-fiction writers20th-century German women writers20th-century Irish novelists, 20th-century Irish short story writers, Irish male short story writersAcademic staff of the University of ParisAcademics of Trinity College DublinAmerican Ashkenazi Jews, American Zionists, American agnostics, German ZionistsAmerican philosophers of mind, American philosophers of scienceAnti-Stalinist leftAnti-natalistsBisexual women writersCommunist women writersContinental philosophersCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyDeaths from pneumonia in France, Prix Goncourt winnersDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyEnactive cognitionExistentialist theologiansFeminist studies scholarsFeminist theoristsFormer AnglicansFree love advocatesFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFrench biographers, French ethicistsFrench magazine foundersFrench male essayistsFrench scientists with disabilitiesGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman music criticsIntellectual historians, University of Chicago facultyIrish essayistsIrish writers in French, People educated at Portora Royal SchoolJewish existentialistsPeople with Parkinson's diseasePhilosophers of nihilismPrinceton University facultyPsychologists of religionScholars of antisemitismThe New School facultyUniversity of Bonn alumniUniversity of Copenhagen alumniUniversity of Marburg alumniWilliam James
  1. Camus

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nobel Prize winning Algerian-French writer and existentialist philosopher Albert Camus.

    3 January 2008

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Peter Dunwoodie, David Walker, Christina Howells

     
  2. Hannah Arendt

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of Hannah Arendt who examined totalitarianism and politics and, when covering the Eichmann trial, explored 'the banality of evil'.

    2 February 2017

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Lyndsey Stonebridge, Frisbee Sheffield, Robert Eaglestone

     
  3. Kierkegaard

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rich and radical ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, often called the father of Existentialism.

    20 March 2008

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Clare Carlisle, John Lippitt

     
  4. Maurice Merleau-Ponty

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the insights of this French philosopher into the relationship between mind and body, the role of language in thought and the value of habits

    27 March 2025

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Thomas Baldwin, Timothy Mooney

     
  5. Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's influential ideas about what it means to be moral.

    12 January 2017

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Stephen Mulhall, Fiona Hughes, Keith Ansell-Pearson

     
  6. Samuel Beckett

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of the author of Waiting for Godot, who lived in Paris and wrote in French as he found that more difficult than writing in English

    17 January 2019

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Steven Connor, Laura Salisbury, Mark Nixon

     
  7. Sartre

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and works of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

    7 October 2004

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Benedict O'Donohoe, Christina Howells

     
  8. Simone de Beauvoir

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simone de Beauvoir - her work on existentialist ethics, philosophy and literature and her influence on feminism.

    22 October 2015

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Christina Howells, Margaret Atack, Ursula Tidd

     
  9. William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience

    Melvyn Bragg and guests Jonathan Ree, John Haldane and Gwen Griffith-Dickson discuss The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.

    13 May 2010

    listen ↗

    Featuring: Jonathan Rée, John Haldane, Gwen Griffith-Dickson