Existentialism

Is known to be a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s

and 1950.
It is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice.
Seeks to examine and understand the totality of human existence and to
deepen the knowledge of an individual of his own being
• In the broader sense it is a 20th century philosophy that is centered upon
the analysis of existence and of the way humans find themselves existing
in the world. The notion is that humans exist first and then each individual
spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature.
• In simpler terms, existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding
self and the meaning of life through free will, choice and personal
responsibility.
• The belief is that people are searching to find out who and what they are
throughout life as they make choices based on experiences, beliefs, and
outlook.
• An existentialist believes that a person should be forced to choose and be
responsible without the help of laws, ethnic rules, or traditions.
 Existentialism – What It is and Isn’t
• Existentialism takes into consideration the underlying concepts:
• Human free will
• Human nature is chosen through life choices
• A person is best when struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life
• Decisions are not without stress and consequences
• There are things that are not rational
• Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial
• Society is unnatural and its traditional religious and secular rules are arbitrary
 “Existence precedes essence.”
• Sartre says that for human beings, existence precedes essence. Basically, we exist
first and then we do things that define ourselves and live our lives in whatever way
we choose (and this determines our essence, and what it means to be a human being.)
• Sartre is a French philosopher, writer and a significant figure in existentialism.
• Essence - the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially
something abstract, that determines its character.
• It is man who creates his own being or essence through his actions emanating from
his freedom.
 Existentialist
• Existentialist –
• Existentialist could either be a religious moralist, agnostic relativist, or an
amoral atheist.
• Kierkegaard – a religious philosopher
• Nietzsche – an anti Christian
• Sartre – an atheist
• Camus – an atheist
• All of them are credited for their works and writings about existentialism.

• Kierkegaard - Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophy has been a major influence

in the development of 20th-century philosophy,
especially existentialism and postmodernism. Kierkegaard was a 19th-
century Danish philosopher who has been called the "Father of
Existentialism.“
• he argues that "subjectivity is truth" and "truth is subjectivity." What he
means by this is that most essentially, truth is not just a matter of
discovering objective facts.
• Friedrich Nietzsche -Among the chief elements of his philosophy are his
radical rejection of the existence and value of objective truth;
his atheistic critique of religion and morality, and of Christianity in
particular, which he characterized as propagating a slave morality in the
service of cultural decline and the denial of life; his characterization of the
human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively
understood as the will to power; and the affirmation of existence in
response to the “death of God" and the profound challenge of nihilism.
• Nihilism - is a philosophical doctrine that suggests the lack of belief in
one or more reputedly meaningful aspects of life.
• Sartre is noted for bringing the most international attention to
existentialism in the 20th century

End
 Sources
www.Wikipedia.com
www.allaboutphilosophy.org
www.philosophybasics.com
Book : Introduction to ETHICS with Social Philosophy and Values
Formation