Extract from personal statement for Oxford

Philosophy is always conditioned by its medium of language; literature by its philosophy. French existentialists often wrote fictitiously to deliver their philosophy: Sartre’s La Nausee explores fatalist ideas through first-person narration, evoking the angst of a search for meaning in a world where “l'existence n'est pas la nécessité.” Similar in style, Camus’ L’Etranger shows how easily a productive member of society can eschew morality and social convention under the force of a moment. I find compelling the fact that existentialism presents practical philosophy; the overlap with fiction allows for a situation-based analysis of the precepts of an ideology. Study in both disciplines permits a linguistic attention to philosophical texts; something often neglected but which I find pays dividends to understanding.