Yu. S. Reunov

Harper's songs and the origin of existencialism in ancient Egypt

Among monuments of ancient Egyptian literature, numerous texts describe the afterlife; these ideas played a crucial role in people’s worldview, reflecting their deepest fears and hopes for existence continued in another incarnation. A key written source on existential experiences in Egyptian culture is Harper’s Songs; it contains unique information about the phenomenology of existentialism in Ancient Egypt. Its analysis allowed establishing characteristics of how inhabitants of the Nile Valley experienced the ultimate concerns of existence, including belief in gods and their power over the fate of deceased, belief in the afterlife, and conviction in effective power of rituals. Comparison with another important text of the same period, The Dispute Between a Man and his Ba, allows concluding that two opposing approaches to human subjectivity coexist and develop in the expanse of the existential choice.

Keywords:
existentialism, phenomenology, ultimate concerns of existence, other existence, Harper’s Songs.

Original language — English.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00013.

Referring: Reunov Yu. S. Harper's songs and the origin of existencialism in ancient Egypt // Egypt and neighbouring countries 3 (2024): 53–65. DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00013.

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