We are excited to share that Jeremy Garbe has successfully defending his MA in Philosophy!
Supervised by Professor Kyla Bruff, Jeremy’s thesis was titled, ‘The Limits of Existential Freedom: An Exploration of the Efficacy of Philosophical Literature in Existentialism’.
Read more about his research below.
Members of the examination board included: his supervisor, Prof. Kyla Bruff, Gordon Davis (chair of the defence), and examiners Prof. David Matheson and Prof. Erik Stephenson.
From left to right: Prof. Erik Stephenson, Prof. Kyla Bruff, Jeremy Garbe, Prof. David Matheson
“This thesis project argues that literature is a meaningful form of philosophizing. In Chapter 1, I outline the relationship between the reader and author in literary works. In Chapter 2, I establish that genre is an important aspect of philosophy and argue that literature is a genre that is interrelated with philosophy, as embodied by the existentialist tradition. In Chapter 3, I explain the importance of the literary genre for Nietzsche, Sartre, and Beauvoir in the conveyance of their philosophies. In Chapter 4, I provide an explanation of the key concepts of existential literature that make it uniquely suited to the expression of existential freedom. In Chapter 5, I look to examples of expository and literary works by the existentialists, arguing that literature emphasizes the importance of community for the existentialist project. Finally, I conclude that philosophy should reconsider genre and incorporate literature into an understanding of existential philosophy.”