
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Existentialist International The Existentialist International
-
The Novelist As Philosopher and the Philosopher As Novelist The Novelist As Philosopher and the Philosopher As Novelist
-
Outsiders and the Cultural Politics of Alienation Outsiders and the Cultural Politics of Alienation
-
Existential Legacies Existential Legacies
-
Notes Notes
-
-
6 Existentialisms in the Hispanic and Latin American Worlds: El Quixote and Its Existential Children
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5 Angst Across the Channel: Existentialism in Britain
Get access-
Published:June 2012
Cite
Abstract
This chapter examines how existentialism was received, constructed, and reconstructed in Britain, and how it challenged the dry academicism of the analytic tradition’s emphasis on logical positivism and empiricism. It considers the London debut of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot and how it became the most famous link between existentialism and the theater of the absurd. Godot’s characters were snipped from vaudevillian types, and their dialogue ultimately goes nowhere but still manages to provide glosses on death, language, God, and providence. Beckett thus seamlessly merged the droll with the profound. In more formal terms, existentialism was introduced to British philosophy by two German Jewish émigrés, Werner Brock and F. H. Heinemann. Outside the academy, however, it was the novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch who popularized existentialism by introducing Jean-Paul Sartre and the themes of the Paris school to British readers. The chapter concludes by discussing the wider cultural reception of existentialism in Britain via the works of such popular authors as Colin Wilson and R. D. Laing.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 2 |
December 2022 | 2 |
April 2023 | 1 |
November 2023 | 1 |
February 2024 | 3 |
March 2024 | 2 |
April 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
February 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.