Existentialism:

The word Existentialism was officially coined by Gabriel Marcel in 1943 Philosophy is a way of life and Existentialism represents long tradition of in the history of philosophy in the West, extending back at least to Socrates. Existentialism is the only contemporary form of philosophy that remained true to the conception of philosophy first articulated over two and a half millennia ago in Ancient Greece. For the Greeks, philosophy was something to be studied in isolation by a group of specialists, but rather the expression of a way life, a mode of conduct. Existentialism has remained a vibrant form of philosophical thought. It seeks to help people to their own feelings and ideas. Perhaps no other philosophical movement has had as great an impact on the philosophy, literature and general cultural outlook of the twentieth century as has existentialism. That’s why it becomes difficult to trace existentialism. It is an ‘ism’ and that gives the misleading impression of a coherent and unified philosophical school.

There is a common understanding or perspective about existentialism that it is about negative emotions like alienation, despair, absurdity etc. The general notion is that it reflects nihilism. It is a kind of atypical movement and most thinkers deny that they fall under the category of existentialist. There are some ideas upon which most existentialists agree there are ideas and principles to which some existentialists show their disagreement. 

The very major characteristic of existentialism is that it begins from man not from nature. Existentialism does not treat man a thinking subject rather it treats man as an existent. According to Sartre, “We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world, and defines himself afterwards. If man, as the existentialism sees him, is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself.”

As per Satre man’s existence precedes his essence, “Existence precedes essence”. It refers to the view that each person exists first, without meaning or purpose, strives thereafter to give himself/herself meaning and purpose. “A person’s essence is to have no essence other than the one must continually invent for himself”.

In human life essence is shaped by existence, not the other way round. Human beings live their lives and that in turn defines what they truly are. There is no predefined pattern that human beings can fit into because everything depends upon situation. A person interprets every situation according to his/her desires, hopes, expectations and intentions. Every situation a person encounters is understood as presently lacking something desired, expected, intended or anticipated. Nothing is predefined and a person acts according to the situation.

Another thing in existentialism is, it is connected with individual. In the view of Roger and Thompson, “Existentialism is about the experience of living as a human being. It is about engaging with the world and dealing with two features of life- the situation in which we find ourselves and the constant desire to go beyond ourselves, planning and shaping our future.” Existentialism is a way of life, a philosophy integrated within life.

Existentialism is not about negativity. It is neither dark nor depressive. It is about the challenges of life. It is describes how it is for each and every person to be in the world, the awkwardness of our inescapable human condition. People feel dissatisfied when something is lacking. Something is always lacking, namely the future. A person is in competition to achieve or fulfill the future immediately to become past. So tomorrow never comes and yesterday is just a memory. And perhaps this reality haunts human beings. It becomes the cause for regret and despair. Existentialism is not about regret or despair. It is about just the way things are. Existentialism recommends bravely accepting how life is and making the most of it. It recommends building life on the firm basis of hard, uncomfortable truths rather than living in illusion. 

Existentialism is a philosophy which teaches a person to come out of the illusion. It teaches to accept life as it is, with its hard realities. 

Existentialism is a philosophy. It is an intellectual movement. To put it simply, “Existentialism is a broad intellectual movement of largely continental philosophers, psychologists, novelists, dramatists, artists, musicians, film makers, comedian and assorted drop outs that developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and remains influential today.”

 

Quiz on Existentialism