Existentialism

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Existentialism

Existentialism attempts to describe our desire to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe

I . Significance of Existentialism

Moral individualism is being characterized with emphasis by Existentialist ethics . Existentialists have sought means for each individual to find the highest good for them , rather than seeking a highest good ' that would be beneficial to all mankind , whether it might ever apply to anyone else at any other time

Existentialist rejects the value of ethic system , they believe that there is

no basic and given human nature ' that is common to all people , and so each person must define what humanity means to them and what values or purpose will dominate in their lives . This belief is contrast with Western philosophy that constructed a moral system that allowed people in all situations to figure out what they should do morally and why

An important consequence of this is that there can 't be any single set of moral standards that will apply to all people at all times . People must make their own commitments and be responsible for their own choices in the absence of universal standards to guide them (Cline , A

2006

II . Themes of Existentialism

A . Freedom : A Choice

Sshren Kierkegaard emphasized that there can be no ethical system that applies to all human beings at all times and in all situations Jean-Paul Sartre believed that we live in a godless universe where there are no absolute , objective guides to action , morality , belief , or understanding . For him , we are all free - thoroughly free such that we feel that being abandoned and forced to take full responsibility for everything that happens to us . While Friedrich Nietzsche considered the idea that the absence of God and belief in absolute standards means that we are all free to reevaluate our values , leading to the possibility of a new and life-affirming

Morality and freedom are focal point of their philosophical works . All of them have agreed to the same idea that there 's no guideline or set of standards on what morality is . Thus , it basically leads to one focal point that there 's no God . Why ? Because there 's no concept or idea from the beginning what separates good from evil . What is pleasant , what is not ? This explains that the options are choices given to us couldn 't be categorized into two things , there should be no label to our actions and decisions . The question is , how can we possibly choose to do good when in a sense , everything is acceptable and tolerable because there is no God that would hinder us from our decisions and actions from doing whatever we want , and there is no instruction on what should we want or need

Everybody is given freedom and we can act whatever we wanted to . For existentialist , freedom is a matter of choice , and consequences are to it , whether it has an advantage or disadvantage . Then morality comes into the essence of freedom , whereas there 's no certain standard or concept of what morality or values are . Morality is such a huge concept or idea that couldn 't be simply defined . It is an act , a belief , or a situation . Freedom is so radical that we are given options or choice from what we should do , what should we value , and what should we believe in . All of our actions have its own consequences and we are responsible for it , and not should be blamed to anybody else , or say that nature has something to do with it

As they have argued that there 's freedom for all our actions and that there 's no standard values or morality people have became aware and set their own standards . Certain core values and beliefs are good because it enable us to choose to do good from bad things . Yes , people have their own criteria of what good morals are , and we have our own notions of what is it . What 's important is how we value life , and how we live it

B . Providence and Chance

Kierkegaard called it Providence . He recognized the divine in it "That everything that happens , is said , goes on , and so forth , is significant the factual continually changes itself to mean something far higher The factual for him is not something to abstract oneself from , but rather something to be penetrated until God himself gives the meaning Even what he himself did became clear only later . It was "the extra which I do not owe to myself but to Providence . It shows itself continually in such a fashion that even what I do out of the greatest possible conviction , afterwards I understand far better

Nietzsche called it chance . And he was concerned to use chance . For him "sublime ' chance " ruled existence "The man of highest spirituality and power feels himself grown

or every chance , but also inside a snowfall of contingencies " But this incident increasingly took on for Nietzsche an amazing meaning "What you call chance -- you yourself are that which befalls and astonishes you " Throughout his life , he found suggestions of how chance events which were of the greatest importance to him carried a secret meaning and in the end he wrote "There is no more chance

C . Christianity and God

Their failure to pay attention to the values and experiences of individuals in favor of abstract formulations about the nature of the universe was one of the serious errors of past philosophical systems that Nietzsche agreed with Kierkegaard . He wanted the individual human being to the focus of philosophical analysis , but he found that people 's earlier faith in that which structured and supported society had collapsed and this , lead to the collapse of traditional morality and traditional social institutions . Nietzsche was referring to faith in Christianity and God

Kierkegaard supported a radically individualistic Christianity that was removed from the conventional but failing Christian norms Christianity and theism should be dispensed with entirely argued by Nietzsche . The individual human being as someone who needed to find their own way , even if that meant a rejection of religious tradition , of cultural norms , and even of popular morality both philosophers agreed

For both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche , the individual human being needs to entrust to values and beliefs which may seem irrational , but which however affirm their lives and their existence In Nietzsche , this sort of person was his 'bermensch in Kierkegaard , it was the Knight of Faith ' They have the similar context . As the famous quote of Nietzsche that the "kingdom of Heaven " is a condition of the heart -- not something that comes "upon the earth " or "after death (The Anti-Christ , 1895 ) He simply explains that Kingdom of heaven is not a location , rather a state of the heart . It is something within us , how we live as an individual , how we treat other human being , and how we make our lives meaningful . To the extent , kingdom of heaven refers to what we have right now , the present time , not our past or our future

For Sartre , he has a contrast divine viewpoint on the world and on human nature with a human perspective where he believed that there is no divine element . Thus , when God thought about creating the world , he conceived it first -- he had in mind what the world was going to be and what human nature was going to be . These were the "essences " of the world and of humanity , the things that will make them what they are Then God created everything and gave existence to the essences . Thus , to God "essence precedes existence " Now , Sartre did not believe in God so there was no place for the essence of humanity to be before human existence . To us , existence comes first . The essence comes later Indeed , the essence is whatever we decide it is going to be . So , from our point of view things are just the opposite of what they would be for people who believed in God . Now it is "existence precedes essence Hence "Existentialism

Sartre essential perspective is the absence of God , not so much the difference between essence and existence of God . Existentialist argued that without God there is no reason , no significance , and no sense in the world . Existentialism foundational proposition is that a world without purpose , value , or meaning is literally worthless , senseless meaningless , blank and discouraging

III . Conclusion

Referring to the quote that we exist to make rational decision in an irrational universe , people make decisions as to what he is , prior to his beliefs , ideas and values in life . We may live in a world that is absurd but we have to make logical decisions in for us to live regardless of moral standards . We have our own ideas and beliefs and what makes who we are

Purpose : To present various themes of existentialism from the perspective of Existentialist such as Friedrich Nietzsche , Soren Kierkegaard , and Jean-Paul Sartre

Audience : Current college and university students ( put appropriate audience

Themes of Existentialism

I . Significance of Existentialism

II . Themes of Existentialism

A . Freedom : A Choice

B . Providence and Chance

C . Christianity and God

III . Conclusion

References

Camus , Albert . The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays (trans . by Justin O 'Brien . New York : Vintage , 1955

Cline , Austin , Friedrich Nietzsche Biography (http /about .com

---- Biographical History of Existentialism

---- Friedrich Nietzsche : His Life and Thought

Hoover , A .J . Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Praeger , 1994

Kierkegaard , Soren , Excerpted from Philosophical Fragments

Nietzsche , Friedrich . The AntiChrist , 1895

Sartre , Jean-Paul . Existentialism and Human Emotions (Trans . by Bernard Frechtman . New York : Philosophical Library , 1957

Wild , John . The Challenge of Existentialism , Indiana University Press 1955

http /www .control-z .com /pages /czbar .html ?http /www .anselm .edu /homepage /dbanach /sartreol .htm

http /www .radicalacademy .com /adiphiexistentialism .htm

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