The theories of existentialism and postmodernism seem like very different ideas
at first glance. Existentialism is a philosophy of individuals, while postmodernism is a
theory focused more on society and less on individual existence. In this thesis, I will
show that both of these ideas can be merged together to be seen as an individual
philosophy. Using theories from each philosophical camp, I will describe both the
existential and postmodern being. I will explain characteristics of these individuals and
explain how they function in society. I will use several philosophers to explain this such
as Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel Foucault, and finally, I will discuss The Stranger by
Albert Camus. In The Stranger, the main character, Monsieur Meursault, exhibits the
qualities of both types of individuals. I will use him as an example of the type of person
that emerges from the philosophical ideas of existentialism and postmodernism. I
analyze Meursault through the eyes of both the existentialist and the postmodernist, and
conclude that Meursault personifies the traits and characteristics that are specific to these
philosophies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/2371 |
| Date | 29 August 2005 |
| Creators | Herring, Lesley Virginia |
| Contributors | McDermott, John J. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 167869 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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