The climate crisis is at its deepest core an existential issue. It forces us - more urgently every year - to reflect on who we are as individuals and as a collective humanity, why we do what we do and how we deal with inevitable ecological and societal changes that will deeply affect our personal lives.

Most existential thinkers have taken the personal, subjective perspective as their starting point. What is it like to be a conscious individual in a particular place at a particular time? What does that mean for such existential issues as meaning, living together, personal development and dealing with (the inevitability of) illness and death? These existential questions are given additional new meaning by the climate crisis.

Using existentialist philosophy and thinking, this course provides an intellectual framework for students to reflect on their thoughts, emotions and behavior in relation to the climate crisis. It also encourages them to make (new) life choices. The course consists of three parts: (1) existentialism as philosophy; (2) existentialism as therapy and (3) existentialism in action.

The course draws on (historical and recent) literature from philosophy and psychology, but also from urban studies, political, economic, social and environmental sciences. It innovatively combines ideas from the humanities with current empirical research from different disciplines studying behavior and the climate crisis.

Timetable

All lectures will take place on-campus and we assume you can be physically present during the scheduled hours. You can find the timetable on Datanose.

Registration

Registration is possible for second or higher year students participating in an Honours programme. The registration for the Honours courses will start on December 1, 10 am -  December 5, 11 pm, You can register through the online registration form that will appear on Honoursmodules IIS. (registration is NOT through SIS or GLASS).

Please note: There is no guarantee no guarantee for placement if you register after 5 December, so make sure you register on time. You will hear which course(s) you are registered for before 20 december. For questions about registration, please contact us at Honours-iis@uva.nl.

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