WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM?

1. WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM?

2. Where did the term existentialism come from? • Not every philosopher or artist was a willing member of this new “existentialist” group. Many were lumped into the movement against their protests (Albert Camus and Martin Heidegger, for example), while others were simply swept along by the timing and similarity of their works (Kafka, Ibsen, Beckett, and Dostoevsky)

3. In classical philosophical discussions, all attempts to define what it means to be a human being was defined by our means of interacting with the world around us, which we can do in two ways: • our behavior through the laws of nature (physically) • through the laws of ethics and morals (morally). In either case, we are defined based on our INTERACTIONS.

4. Where is existentialism different? • The existentialist position is that neither of those modes of thinking are sufficient to “fully capture what makes me, myself, my “ownmost” self. Without denying the validity of scientific categories (governed by the norm of truth) or moral categories (governed by norms of the good and the right), “existentialism” may be defined as the philosophical theory which holds that a further set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to grasp human existence.” SDP, “Existentialism”

5. Huh? • To understand what it means to be human is more than understanding the scientific and moral laws of humanity. It requires understanding the essential youness of being you, that element that cannot be captured in objective science but must be sought through SUBJECTIVE, PASSIONATE examination.

6. Existence precedes Essence We cannot say what it means to be human, because we create that meaning by the way we live as humans. In other words, we do not have a “standard” existence, but one that varies wildly according to the conditions affecting it.

7. Sartre on “Existence Precedes Essence”: • "What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means that, first of all, the human individual exists, turns up, appears in the world, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If the human individual, as the existentialist thinks of him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus, there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive of it. Not only is the human individual what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after this thrust toward existence." (Sartre, Existentialism, 481-2)

8. Authenticity and Freedom • There is no one, specific authentic path for a human being – nothing that can be thought of as a norm or standard. • Authenticity considers the question of whether I am, in pursuing a project, doing so in a committed manner (making it “my own”) or as merely a placeholder who is doing “what one does” to fit in.

9. So where does all the pain and angst come in? Humans are not like objects—we are free to choose our paths and are “self-creating” (in that we pick how we behave once we begin to exist), and thus, unlike objects, we are responsible for our own actions and choices. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility!

10. Since we are thus responsible for our choices as individuals, we also must recognize that our individual choices have global impact – the choices each of us make affect everyone else, and therefore we are each responsible both for ourselves and for all of humanity.

11. Yeah, but…. • Since I am responsible for both myself and the rest of the world, and since I have no one to turn to for help or instructions (since there is no divine force giving us moral or physical guidance in this paradigm), I am therefore doomed to live a life of ANGUISH, FORLORNNESS, AND DESPAIR!

12. ANGUISH The feeling that one is responsible for the entirety of the world, and that one’s choices are thus of overwhelming importance. We cannot escape our responsibilities, which loom over everything we do and color us with endless feelings of doubt and question.

13. FORLORNNESS A reaction to the absence of a god-figure in our world. We are ultimately alone in the universe with nothing but ourselves for guidance. This, given the people around us, is a scary, lonely thought.

14. Implications of the nonexistence of God: • No foundation for objective & absolute values. • All values are human creations. • Man is “condemned to be free.” • We are alone, with no justifications & no excuses. Dostoevsky: "If God does not exist, then everything is permitted." slide courtesy of gcronk@bergen.edu

15. DESPAIR Since we must rely on others, and since others are essentially out of our control, yet we still are by definition responsible for ourselves and for everyone else, this creates a situation where we cannot possibly see how we can meet our responsibilities adequately, and thus we feel a sense of hopelessness and futility. (bummer.)

16. Existentialism in Art Blue (Moby Dick) – Jackson Pollock, 1943

17. Existentialism in Art Willem de Kooning – Woman and Bicycle (1953)

18. Existentialist-influenced music and film • Jim Morrison, The Doors • Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails • Fight Club (and pretty much everything by Chuck Palahniuk) MAJOR THEME: THE STRUGGLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO FIT IN IN A WORLD OF HOPELESSNESS AND ABSURDITY