The meaning of the suffering of Meursault from the angle of existentialist crisis

On October 1945, the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre lectured an audience at the Club Maintenant in Paris on the burgeoning existentialist movement. Among many other threads of criticism, Sartre’s lecture addresses two main criticisms of existentialist thought: the argument that existentialism overemphasizes the subjectivity of man, and the argument that atheistic existentialism means that we can’t condemn the actions of other people. Sartre first tackles the objection that existentialism overemphasizes the subjectivity of man. According to Sartre, his critics accuse him of “confining man within his individual subjectivity” (Sartre, Existentialism

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.

“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)

Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know,” (Camus 3) it appears that Meursault maintains a passive attitude even when confronted with the difficult news of his mother’s passing. This initial glimpse of passivity conveys the message that Meursault’s lifestyle is an acceptable one, but in reality, it is very different from society’s lifestyle. An acceptable reaction to this situation would be to mourn the loss of the loved one, but Meursault simply does not have the same reaction. Also, it is evident that Meursault lacks self-knowledge. For example, the caretaker asks Meursault why he does not want to see his mother’s body and he responds with a simple “I don’t know” (Camus 6). The fact that Meursault is unaware of his surroundings and lacks control over his motivations only proves that his ideas of values are

  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

One of the main existentialists was Jean-Paul Sartre who was French, and he started by proposing the “Existentialism is humanism.” This means that we assume the God is dead and we have to rely on our own existence. Sartre also believed that humans were in a different sense than other things like plants, leaves, etc, and that we have a different essence from them. Sartre also believed that human nature was fake and that it is human’s fate to do what we want. Although his views were filled with sadness, he believed that everything has a meaning. Life has a meaning but the individual can figure out their own meaning of life. Sartre argued that our thoughts and emotions allow us to think of the world in a different way.

When one of his mother’s closest friends stops sobbing, Meursault is glad “finally shut up” instead of having any sympathy for a mourning woman. This shows how insensitive Meursault can be in a time in which most people would be too sad to get upset over such natural behavior. In this way, the mourning friends are used as a comparison between Meursault and the majority of society in this sense, and as portrayed here, Meursault appears to be the lesser of the two. Though Meursault asserts that he loved his mother in her life and tried to take the best care of her that he could provide when she lived with him, once she dies he immediately accepts that she is gone. This is technically a rational way to react, as mourning does bring back loved ones and therefore is pointless, but few people can actually manage to forget about their loved one so quickly. It can be assumed that Meursault feels the same way about the death of his mother as he does the possible death of his girlfriend Marie, that he would not be “interested in her dead,” meaning that if she were gone, he would be able to move on since she no longer plays a role in his life. He may still have had strong feelings for his mother just as he does for Marie, but he bases the feelings he has off of how much of a role these people play in his life. This idea is consistent with the existential view that the only thing that matters is the here and now of life and not the past or

Existentialism is a philosophical way of thinking and it emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational existing in an irrational universe. The fact that humans are conscious of their mortality, and must make decisions about their life is basically what existentialism is all about. In the story “A clean, Well-lighted place” by Ernest Hemingway was about two waiters waiting to close up the restaurant/café for the night. They only had one customer left, an old man who was deaf and drunk. But he wasn’t causing any trouble, just keeping to himself. The two waiters apparently knew this old man because he was a regular at the café. Apparently the old man attempted to commit suicide but his niece stopped him from doing it. The two waiters had a discussion about the old man trying to commit suicide and both of them had very different opinions.

Jean-Paul Sartre is the Existentialism Is a Humanism writes about how humans are totally free. Sartre follows after Nietzsche in that since God is dead there becomes an issue arising about what humans should do. For the past thousand or so years God has proved a meaning and moral code that people should follow. If there is no God that means there was one human being in which existence preceded essence. Humans have the ability to give things meaning and with the death of God this in the eyes for existentialist believe it frees us. We no longer have to act according because God said we should act this way. However, it doesn’t mean that anything necessarily goes because existentialist believe that even though there are no moral absolutes we still have to take responsibility for our actions. The death of God however has a tremendous effect on people who truly recognize what the meaning of God’s death entails. Individuals fall into forlornness and it gives us nothing to cling and hold onto. If God does not exist we find no values or commands to turn to which legitimize our conduct. When Sartre discusses about anxiety it is not the same as fear. Vertigo is anguish to the extent that I am afraid not of falling over the precipice, but of throwing myself over. The ability that we have to create of essence and values in something that is good and although is scary because the person realized that nothing is stable in

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

It was in the 19 Th centuries where a French writer Jean-Paul Sartre who popularized the concept of existentialism this was during his play No Exit. Sartre explained Existentialism, which states on the belief that life has no meaning. Each is separate from all other individuals, so each person has the power to place himself in the position he wishes, that every individual is responsible for his actions. (Reynolds)People should be responsible for themselves rather than make excuses for the occurrences in their life, the belief that humans have free will. The play was published in 1943.

Jean Paul Sartre is a philosopher that supports the philosophy of existentialism. Existentialism is a twentieth century philosophy that denies any crucial human nature and embraces that each of us produces our own essence through our free actions. Existentialists like Sartre believe there isn’t a God that determines people’s nature. So, existentialists believe that humans have no purpose or nature except the ones that they create for themselves. We are free and responsible for what we are and our engagements; even though we are mindful that this can cause agony.

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts (Bigelow 134). Basically, existentialism addresses man's existence. An existentialist

I consider myself an existentialist. There are two basic approaches to this philosophy: either one rejoices in the freedom of the idea that a higher power is not imposing rules and purpose onto our existence, or, one sinks beneath the burden of responsibility that this bequeaths. Existentialists like Sartre, who can only see the bleak and meaningless aspects of living, have missed the opportunity that this philosophy gives to structure and guide their lives based on their own inner moral principles. I think that the inability to cope with inherent absence of meaning points to a dependence on the guidance of a higher power: in effect, a reluctance to take responsibility for oneself. I see existentialism as an incredibly liberating