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Existentialists is a philosophy that is based on the belief that humankind is not part of any sort of order or metaphysical scheme. They are in the words of Jean-Paul Sartre, thrown into this world without their desire to be here at all. As they face the fact that yes indeed they are here, well they must create their own world with apologies to no one. In the words of Sartre, to use him as an example, each man has absolute choice of self...
The existentialist does study the world, its history and other philosophies. They reach conclusions that often are quite factual ones. For example, perhaps the most famous existentialist, Nietzsche comes to the conclusion that through eons of human existence, the intellect of man has produced nothing but errors. Existentialists are often misunderstood by many and that includes other existentialists. For instance the Nietzsche comment that "God is dead" made world headlines in the field of philosophy. What does he mean when he tells us God is dead? Some say he means Man has killed God by ignoring him....
As a whole, this school of philosophy is both intriguing and mysterious.
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Which individuals are existentialists?
For A+ Soren K, Friedrich N & and Jean-Paul S.
How and why values are subjective and objective for existentialists?
Existentialists = a philosopher who emphasizes freedom of choice and personal responsibility but who regards human existence in a hostile universe as unexplainable (wordnet) Subjective = taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias Objective = belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events Personal responsibility and the degree of it is subjective and objective as a person will always decide at some point that *something* exists outside his/her realm of responsibility. As they believe in a hostile universe, there is no reason to act for the good of anyone else in a case like that or step out of their limit of responsibility. For all they know, that step could go against them. And as we all know, freedom of choice is subjective. What do we mean by it? Freedom of choice in stealing cars? Or freedom of choice in which dog steak to buy at that road-side stall? The interpretation depends on the person. The key in understanding why no two existentialists' values will be the same is in the last part of that definition courtesy of wordnet: "human existence in a hostile universe as unexplainable". Law and authority are chaotic. The individual suffers under the system. There is only the certainty of death. The sufficiently motivated E-list (I got tired of typing that word, sorry) may attempt to seek out meaning for life anyway - it's one of those innate human needs. And because they have nothing to go by - just the atheistic, philosophic mindset - who knows how they will interpret the situations they come across in life to create or cross-out the whys of existence? IN short: what has the existentialist to go by?
What is existentalism?
Existentialism is a term that is applied to the writings of a number of 19th and 20th century philosophers who had widely different doctrinal differences but generally held that people are entirely free and thus responsible for what they make of themselves. There were different views amongst existential philosophers as to the existence of God and the potential consequences. There were theistic and atheistic existentialists. The term arose in the mid twentieth century. The early 19th century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is held to be the father of existentialism and he maintained in his writings that the individual is solely responsible for giving her or his own life meaning and for living life with passion and sincerity. Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) are considered to be fundamental to the existentialist movement.
What is the phlosophy of Jean-Paul sartre?
It's a bit difficult to sum up Sartre's philosophy, but I hope this would be a good abridged version: Sartre is most identified with his contributions to existentialism, he codified the aforementioned philosophy with his revelation that "existence precedes essence." This statement rejects the notion held by many philosophers and theologians since the time of Plato that consciousness first has an essence or archetype before it exists, because consciousness (or being) is a negation (this is not to say that existentialism is necessarily atheistic, but Sartre was an atheist existentialist). Man, to Sartre, is "condemned to be free." Existentialism is a philosophy that gives priority to subjectivity, or consciousness; this priority stemming from Descartes famous statement "I think, therefore I am." (The mind/body duality that this statement sets up isn't as important to existential thought then the duality between subjective/reality). Also, existentialism can be traced back to nihilism, in fact one could say that it is a response to it. In short, nihilism's basic premise is that life/reality has no intrinsic meaning or value, existentialists agree with this but add that the subjective meaning is important in life, this sentiment is reflected in existential literature in that that human will usually conquers existential despair through the act of creating something or taking hold of one's life. Lastly, existentialism is related to determinism, asserting that human's possess free will (in the existentialist world this is known as "abandonment"). A simple way to understand this is that deterministic philosophy looks at the objective factors in the decision-making process, whereas existentialists (as stated earlier) look at the subjective act of choice, and thus state that man is responsible for his actions. Sartre's phenomenology centers around existentialism, but includes a lot more than what I've mentioned earlier; separating consciousness into being-for-itself and being-in-itself, and also delving into psychoanalysis of interpersonal relations (separating the being-for-others, when you become the object of someone else's consciousness, and "the Other," which represents an other conscious being); another quote he is famous for regarding his phenomenology, from his play 'No Exit,' is that "hell is other people," embodying the existential struggle that occurs during interpersonal contact. Outside of this Sartre is known for his political philosophy. He was a member of the radical left and a Marxist theorist, but declared himself an anarchist. (Anarchism and feminism being political schools of thought that existentialism heavily influenced afterward.) Hope this helped ;)
What are the limitations of existentialism theory?
Since linguistic philosophy tends to be considered by its proponents to be a method or a group of methods, internal diversity within the area of concern is not surprising. Similarly, Existentialism, which is less of an "-ism" than an attitude, expresses itself in a variety of ways. The most influential modern Existentialists have been the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and the French philosopher, dramatist, and novelist Jean Paul Sartre (1905-80); the former was especially important in the development of modern continental theology, particularly for the use made of some of his ideas by Rudolf Bultmann. According to Heidegger, man's existence is characterized as "care." This care is shown first in possibility: man makes things instrumental to his concerns and so projects forward. Secondly, there is his facticity, for he exists as a finite entity with particular limitations (his "thrownness"). Thirdly, man seeks to avoid the anxiety of his limitations and thus seeks inauthentic existence. Authenticity, on the other hand, involves a kind of stoicism (positive attitude toward life and suffering) in which death is taken up as a possibility and man faces the "nothing." The structure of man's world as analyzed by Heidegger is revealed, in a sense, affectively--i.e., through care, anxiety, and other existential attitudes and feelings. Sartre's thought has had less direct impact on the study of religion, partly because his account of human existence represents an explicit alternative to traditional religious belief. Sartre's analysis begins, however, from the human desire to be God: but God is, on Sartre's analysis, a self-contradictory notion, for nothing can contain the ground of its own being. In searching for an essence man fails to see the nature of his freedom, which is to go beyond definitions, whether laid down by God or by other human beings.
Which individuals are existentialists?
For A+ Soren K, Friedrich N & and Jean-Paul S.
What philosopher do many historians say was the first of the modern existentialists?
Soren Kierkegaard.
What is atheistic existentialists views on the meaning of life?
We believe in life, and that life does exist.
Do Existentialists believe in God?
Some do and some don't. Being an existentialist doesn't necessarily involve denying the possibility of the existence of a higher power.
What do existentialists believe in and how would they explain the role of the individal?
They believe that people create their own essence and meaning of their lives. They would say that each individual is entirely free and has a responsiblity to create ethical parameters for his own behavior. Existentialists start with the premise that individuals come into existence in an established world that cannot be thought away, and that their existence is more basic than any meaning ascribed to human life.
What are the two main components of existentialism?
choice and responsibility. existentialists believe that all are born blank slates and that existence precedes essence. in other words, they believe that your actions determine who you are although you have to bear the responsibility for those actions.
What has the author Thomas Hanna written?
Thomas Hanna has written: 'Bodies in revolt' -- subject(s): Human beings, Mind and body, Technology and civilization 'The end of tyranny' -- subject(s): American Philosophy, Civilization 'Hanna' 'The Bergsonian heritage' 'The lyrical existentialists' -- subject(s): Existentialism
Are existentialism and atheism separable?
Kierkegaard (one of the earliest existentialists) was also a Christian, and so he believed that existentialism could work in a world ruled over by God. This opinion has not been popular among later existentialists. Nietzsche's declaration that God is dead was meant to signify that people no longer looked to God for answers, but now we look to science as our new religion, and the scientists are our new God. In a way, Nietzsche was advocating not just atheism, but disbelief in any system that attempts to bring answers, as the proper method of being an individual. My personal belief is that atheism is a necessary part of existentialism, because by submitting your will to that of a higher a power, you are turning yourself into an object of his control. It all hinges on the very shaky question of whether free will is possible in a world with God.
What has the author Robert C Solomon written?
Robert C Solomon has written: 'Phenomenology and existentialism. --' -- subject(s): Existentialism, Phenomenology 'Introducing the existentialists' -- subject(s): Existentialism, Addresses, essays, lectures 'About love' -- subject(s): Love 'Love' -- subject(s): Love 'True to our feelings' -- subject(s): Emotions (Philosophy)
What would an existentialist say about the fact that only when you get to the bottom does anything change?
Existentialists would say that this is a reflection of the human condition - we are always searching for meaning and purpose, but often only find it when we reach the bottom. This is because we are constantly trying to find ways to change our lives, but only when we have nothing left to lose do we finally make the changes that we need to.
What has happened to Meursault?
In Albert Camus' novel "The Stranger", Meursault is sentenced to death for the murder of an Arab man. Throughout the story, Meursault displays a detached and indifferent attitude towards life and society, leading to his eventual conviction. His existentialist mindset and lack of conformity to social norms ultimately lead to his downfall.
What is heidegger understanding of ethics?
Martin Heidegger, as a student of Edmund Husserl wrote that art can deliver us from a technological, mechanistic world view. Ethics to the Phenomenologists (later Existentialists which he was both) required that primordially, science and technology could not contain prior presuppositions and prejudices. Back to the Greek ideal of a rigorous science completely separated from the influences of politics and religion.
