Meaning and Existentialism in My Life Essay

“If a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, then he hasn’t got a reason to live.” These were famous words of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoken June 23, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan.

Life, it might be argued, is the distinguishing feature of all organisms and may most usefully be thought of as involving various kinds of complex systems of organization providing individual organisms with the ability to make use of those energy sources available to them for both self maintenance and reproduction. Underlying this deceptively persuasive definition, however, lie those persistent traditional problems inherent in the search for an essential, distinctive substance characteristic of all forms of life. Additionally, as evolution theory makes clear, there is the problem of borderline instances, organisms of which it is not easy to say whether or not they may be defined as being alive. One such case

“I took a test in Existentialism. I left all the answers blank and got 100”. This quote was said by Woody Allen, a comedian and actor. This quote explains existentialism well because through this philosophy people have their own free will to make any decision they want. The idea that the individual, not society or religion, is responsible for giving meaning to life is true as well as logical. Existentialism is the approach to understanding human existence, based on the assumption that individuals are free and responsible for their own choices and actions. It supports this statement because its saying that humans can think and choose whatever they want to be and it allows humans to understand that they have unlimited potential.

Existentialism is a philosophy that puts emphasis on the existence of a person’s freedom or life. In a human point of view, it means to believe in oneself, not a group or religion. (33)

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.

What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I

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.

My few years on this planet have been a bit confusing. I have learned of many aspects of life from which one can draw meaning, if indeed such meaning can be drawn. I have also learned that there can be no singular meaning of life to stand for us all, or even any one of us. What I have learned above all is that trying to put words to the meaning of life is a task of absolute absurdity. This is not to be confused with the idea that life has no meaning, for life certainly has meaning. However, there is no single meaning of life to be defined - life is different for us all. Therefore, rather than define life for an entire planet, I shall try to explain what life means as I perceive it, and why it means so.

The abstract idea of life cannot be explained by such simple ideas as being animated, breathing, or speaking. Ordinary machines in this century can perform all of these basic functions. The quandary with defining death is not as abstract and elusive as that of life. The problem of defining life and death has plagued philosophers and the religious bodies for thousands of years for one reason; each philosophy or religion has tried to define the meaning of life and death from only their certain perspective. The seemingly appropriate approach to this problem would be to understand the ideas presented in various philosophies and religions and through this knowledge create a new definition for each idea of life

     I can remember as a child always asking myself the “why” questions of life. What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why do certain things happen? And is there really a God? I had always kept these questions to myself and eventually pushed them out of my mind altogether. I was raised in a Christian household and you just were not allowed to ask questions of that nature and doubt the faith. The world is the way it is because God made it that way and that is all there is to it. I was really excited to take this class because it would finally give me the opportunity to exercise my personal thoughts and beliefs. I have come to agree with Socrates that “the unexamined life is not

Existentialism developed in the more extensive feeling to twentieth century rationality that is focused upon the investigation about presence and of the best approach people discover themselves existing or their existence as a whole. Existentialism takes its name from those philosophical topic of 'existence ', this doesn 't involve that there will be homogeneity in the way presence will be on be comprehended. On simpler terms, existentialism will be an logic worried for finding self and the intending from claiming an aggregation through spare will, choice and also personage obligation. Existentialism turned into prominent following those Second World War. In spite of seeing its philosophical viewpoint is little spot complex,

The consideration of the purpose of life has been ongoing and is never-ending throughout the course of history. The question itself has caused many people to generate many different strong views and opinions based on traditional, ideological backgrounds, and religious outlooks. The deliberation about the meaning of life will never end since there is not one reassuring basic, general answer. Instead, examine the question in another way, like, “What is my purpose in life?” The purpose of life varies from one person to another because of “free will.” While some people believe that for every human, life is called to some divine duty by God, everyone has a different drive that is waiting to be discovered within themselves, and people must set

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

Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit