Existentialism Essays (1221 words) - Philosophy Of Life, Modernism

Existentialism Existentialism refers to the philosophical movement or tendency of the nineteenth and twentyth centuries. Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, a precise definition is impossible; however, it suggests one major theme: a stress on individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice {3}. Existentialism also refers to a family of philosophies devoted to an interpretation of human existence in the world that stresses its concreteness and its problematic character. Existentialism is often seen as an irrationlist revolt against tradiational phylosphy. Although this may be true to a certain point, existentialism has played a key role in the way people look at the world. Existentialism, for several reasons, rejects epistemology and the attempt to ground human knowledge. First of all,existenalist believe, human beings are not solely or even primarily knowers. They also care, desire, manipulate, and, above all, choose and act. Secondly, the self or ego, required by some if not all epistemological doctrines, is not a basic feature of the prereflective experience. It emerges from one's experience of other people. The cognizing ego presupposes rather than infers or constitutes the existence of external objects. In other words, you are not born with an ego, or thought of ones self, but it is created through experiences with other people. Finally, man is not a detached observer of the world, but in the world. He exists in a special sense in which objects suck as stones and trees do not; he is open to the world and to objects in it. There is no distinct realm of consciousness, on the basis of which a person might infer, reason why project, or doubt the existence of external objects {1}. Most philosophers since ancient Greek thinker Plato have held that the highest ethical good is universal. Nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard {4, 333} reacted against this tradition, insisting that the individual's highest good is to find his or her own unique vocation. In terms of moral choice, existentialists have argued that there is no objective, rational basis for decisions; they stress the importance of individualism in deciding questions of morality and truth. Most existentialists have held that rational clarity is desirable wherever possible but that life's most important questions are not accessible to reason or science. The first to anticipate existentialism's major concerns was seventeenth-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who denounced a systematic philosophy that presumes to explain God and humanity. He saw life in terms of paradoxes: The human self, combining mind and body, is itself a contradiction. Later, Kierkegaard rejected a total rational understanding of humanity and history, stressing the ambiguity and absurdity of the human situation. Nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche espoused tragic pessimism and life-affirming individual will. Heidegger argued that human beings can never hope to understand why they are here; instead, each individual must choose a goal and follow it with passionate conviction, aware of the certainty of death and the ultimate meaninglessness of one's life. Twentieth-century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre first gave the term existentialism general currency by using it for his own philosophy. Explicitly atheistic and pessimistic, his philosophy declared that human life requires a rational basis but the attempt is a futile passion {2, 99-106}. Nevertheless, he insisted that his view is a form of humanism, emphasizing freedom and responsibility. Freedom of choice, through which each human being creates his own nature, is a primary theme. Because individuals are free to choose their own path, they must accept the risk and responsibility of their actions. Kierkegaard held that a feeling of general apprehension, which he called dread, is God's way of calling each individual to commit to a personally valid way of life{1}. The twentyth-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger {3} felt that anxiety leads to the individual's confrontation with the impossibility of finding ultimate justification for his or her choices. There are many other themes in existentialism, here are just a few. First, there is the basic existentialist standpoint, that existence precedes essence, has primacy over essence. Man is a conscious subject, rather than a thing to be predicted or manipulated; he exists as a conscious being, and not in accordance with any definition, essence, generalization, or system. Existentialism says I am nothing else but my own conscious existence. {4,21-22}. A second existentialist theme is that anxiety, or the sense of anguish, a generalized uneasiness, a fear or dread which is not directed to any specific object. Anguish is the dread of the nothingness of human existence. This theme is as old as Kierkegaard {5} within existentialism; it