“Why am I here?”What is the meaning of life?”Who am I?” These are all common questions for one to occasionally ponder throughout his or her lifetime. Some people, however, are plagued by those questions, constantly interrogating their life, and its purpose. I, happen to be one of the people who are chronically bedeviled by questions. I want to know what my purpose on this earth is, and why I’m really here. More than that though, I want to know who I am. (insert your name here) isn’t who I am; it’s a name.
That’s why the writing of French Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre intrigued me as much as it did. Sartre claims that there are not set standards for self-identity, either for individuals or people in general. Sartre argues that there is no such thing as ‘human nature.’ He also says that what we are, and what it means to be a human being, are only matters of decision. There is no correct choice, only choices in which to choose from (Solomon, 1993).
I like the idea of being able to decide who I am. To me, humanity’s primary distinction, is the freedom to choose. I don’t believe that human beings have a fixed nature, or essence, as some other animals and plants do. Each human being makes choices that create his or her own nature. Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard held that it is spiritually crucial to recognize that people experience not only a fear of specific objects, but also a feeling of general apprehension, which he called dread. He interpreted it as God’s way of calling each individual to make a commitment to a personally valid way of life.
The Essay on People often complain about life in the U.S.
People complain when most of their needs are not met. The irony of it lies when complaints are just piled up without any further insights on how to solve such problems. In the long run, complaints become a part of the lifestyle of people who are good at pointing at the loopholes most especially of the government, and of the leaders. As there would always be a reason for every action that is done, ...
The word anxiety has a similarly crucial role in the work of the 20 th-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger; “Anxiety leads to the individual’s confrontation with nothingness and with the impossibility of finding ultimate justification for the choices he or she must make.” After first reading this statement by Heidegger, I was slightly confused. But upon finding a definition for anxiety, different than what I had been thinking, I firmly agreed. Apprehensive, and painful uneasiness over an anticipated event leaves a person with nothing ahead of them, nothing to justify their choices. It is my theory, that human beings exist to learn about themselves, and their own nature.
I believe that every person controls their destiny, and their fate is determined by the choices we, as individuals make. Kierkegaard reacted against 19 th Century tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his, or her, own unique vocation. As he wrote in his journal, “I must find a truth that is true for me… the idea for which I can live or die.” To me, personal experience and acting on one’s own convictions are essential in arriving at the truth about who one is. I don’t think that anything is more important than knowing that..
