Existentialism Paper

Existentialists as all philosophies examine the big questions in life, called the Human condition by many; existentialists ask questions, about why we are here, what is our purposes and how shall I live my life (Introduction to Existentialism, 2012)? One of the main strengths about existentialism is how they reject movements, thinking or philosophies that are all encompassing and have beliefs that everyone should behave, act or surmise their views on life in the same manner, these are contrary to the existentialists views, especially these issues pertaining to the human condition. One such example is Christianity, because Christianity gives everyone the same options, existentialists reject these beliefs. Therefore existentialism postulates a more individualized approach and believes that everyone should determine what is morally right for themselves rather than follow a one size fits all approach. I think we all have a right to decide our own path regardless of what others try to teach as being the truth and we all should find the truth for ourselves.

Existentialists find value in a personal point of view (thou rather than it). Like atheistic existentialists they hold a distinction between the subjective and objective worlds.

Existentialism is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre, was published in 1945 at the height of Existentialism's cultural resurgence. As Sartre states in his opening line, his purpose is to “offer a defence of existentialism against some charges that have been brought against it.” (Sartre, 1945) At a time where Existentialism was heavily associated with wearing black and smoking (Fahlenbrach, 2012) Sartre felt the need to draw attention to its philosophical and more meaningful aspects, beyond it simply being a passing trend. Sartre outlines, “Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first principle of existentialism” (Sartre, 1945) This is rooted in what Sartre believes to be the basis of all Existential

What is the meaning of life? Who am I? What is my purpose? These are open existential inquiries that both modern and ancient philosophers have yet to answer certainly. Unquestionably, the philosophy of existentialism is an interesting theory and psychological phenomenon. Existentialism is a philosophy promulgated in the 20th century that holds that every person exists first and his nature, or essence, comes about later through the manner by which he chooses to live his life. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main protagonist, Hamlet, grapples with many existential questions, seeking truth and understanding as he progresses in his knowledge and ideas of morales and mortality.

Now sometime ago, I wrote in a post that I would be studying up on Eastern religions and their concept of God; because, typical arguments against God in the West only really work towards the monotheistic Western deity of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Now, I have been reading up quite a bit between my studies at university. I can't say that I'm finished studying up on these interesting and highly complex religions, but I will go over where I am, personally, at the moment.

  Existentialism is a philosophy dealing with man's aloneness in the universe. Either there is no God or else God stands apart from man, leaving him free will to make his own choices. From this basic idea of man being alone in an uncertain and purposeless world, many related ideas have developed. One great worry of existentialist writers is that life is becoming too complicated and too impersonal. People become more and more involved with their work, which is taking them away from their friends, family, and culture. However, these provide the only "meaning" that life could possibly have. One author prominently known for his work with existential ideas was Franz

Throughout this semester, this class has been really hard on me as an individual. It has challenged me emotionally and has made me really think about my life. There have been times in class I just sit there and think is this really what I pictured my life to be like. I have many dreams to study abroad, move away after graduation, go somewhere warm with friends after graduation, or a dream job, but I always have things hold me back from perusing those dreams. Either financially or other things in my life. Throughout this semester, I have found myself having moments connecting with the therapist as he was talking to Stan. Which kind of scared me because I would think is there something wrong with me? Or why am I not doing that? Learning about the different theories, and techniques helped me better my life as an individual. Intro to counseling has taught me a lot. With being able to relate or connect to the different theories has helped me understand I do have a meaning in life. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will discuss in more detail about

The existentialist is one who is concerned only with that intense moment of awareness with only his senses at his disposal, never looking to the future – the most living awareness. McCandles, the protagonist, in Into the Wild has come to the realization that existence is already being dead and accepting the fact that life is absurd and marvelous. He embraced the sublime absurdity of existence by renouncing the language games society plays. What is so enticing about the existentialist is that he is not concerned with the pressure of appearances and small talk which society employs to lie about what they think and feel. Existentialism is accepting the inevitability of death and living life for the moment without entertaining hope or falsities that distract one from living and accepting truth. The existentialist sees the simplicity in life and the absurdity of complicating it with pretences and lies, the existentialist is a naked man, he is one who becomes one with the rest of creation in accepting his fate on this earth and not hoping for anything more – he simply exists.

Existentialism is defined as “a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.” In the book, Stranger by Albert Camus, the author Camus presents a unique existentialist view through the life and struggles of Meursault. The reason why Albert Camus has a huge existentialist view incorporated in his book is because he wrote it during the Existentialist movement. That is why Meursalt may seem to be irrational and does not feel like there is an existence. Albert Camus uses really practical and simple situations.

The Merriam – Webster Dictionary defines existentialism as a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our natures are the natures we make for ourselves, the meaning of our existence is that we just exist and there may or may not be a meaning for the existence, and we have to individually decide what is right or wrong and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer any of those things for us. A good

In his 1946 essay Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre undertakes the task of defending existentialism against what he defines as “charges” (341) brought against it. Sartre begins to outline the “charges” brought against existentialism and further, existentialists. Following the medieval quaestio-form, Sartre begins with the statement of the objection, a short discussion, and then his reply to each.

Existentialism can be defined as a branch of philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It focuses on the question of human existence and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation for existence. Although they never used the term existentialism in their works, Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche are considered two of the first and significant philosophers to the existentialist movement. They focused on subjective human experience and were interested in the struggle to escape boredom and find meaning in life. Kierkegaard and Nietzsche also stressed the importance of making free choices and how these choices change the identity of the individual. Both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche felt that life is

Shakespeare is an existentialist prolific precursor; he is a writer who focuses on existentialist ideas in his own distinctive theatrical and poetic terms long before they were fully developed in the philosophical and literary terms of the 20th century. Existentialism is a man-centered philosophy. Defined briefly as regarding the precedence of human existence to essence, thus humans are entirely free and must be held culpable for their actions, as they create their own values and determine their own meaning to their life. It typically displays a dismal of abstract theories that seek to disguise the untidiness of actual human lives. It emphasizes the subjective realities of individual existence, individual freedom, and individual choice,

For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they know from the society, they are attempting to find a meaning and purpose to their lives.

The world we live in is an odd one; some cope with its absurdities through intensive faith, others through utter disregard of all its meaning. Existentialism, however, leads us down a peculiar path that blurs these concepts into one unique belief system. While we might be faced with situations beyond our complete control, we do have the power to control how we handle said situations and whether or not we choose to cultivate significance from them. The search for significance is very primitive and so are the answers that have accompanied it throughout human history. Obviously, life doesn’t have a clearly stated purpose to it; it is up to each individual to create their own relative purpose and find their own happiness in a life of suffering. This is exactly what Existentialism proposes, that it is not possible to know the truth, so it is up to the individual to create his or her own, and then create their own purpose. Merriam-Webster defines the philosophy theory of Existentialism as a “…philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.” But Existentialism is not a concept that can simply be defined in one fell swoop. Throughout our studies of philosophy, I found there to be two main concepts that act as the foundation for the basic