Existentialism and Human Emotions Author:Jean-Paul Sartre, Bernard Frechtman (Translator), Hazel E. Barnes (Translator) Sartre’s Existentialism and Human Emotions is a stirring defense of existentialist thought, which argues that “existence precedes essence.” While attacks on existentialism claim that the philosophy leads to a kind of nihilistic gloom, Sartre contends that instead existentialism is the only path toward giving man meanin... more »g. Sartre ultimately argues that by the very absence of “a priori meaning,” an individual can discover and shape his or her own significance and place in the world.
Sartre turns the typical nihilistic definition of existentialism on its head in this optimistic take on his best-known theory.« less
A good, brief introduction to the ideas of existentialism;; especially if you - like I did - tried to read, first, "Between Being and Nothingness", and couldn't make it past the first few pages (LOL)!