Existentialism, Ethics, & Consciousness The operating apparatus of existentialism differs from traditional philosophical methods that are based on rationalism as something that corresponds to the essence of objective reality. Individuals existence is considered by Emerson, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard as something that defines its own properties. According to them, the essence of every ontological idea is different, in its relation to every particular individual. This is because the emotional properties of persons character are the ones that affect his destiny more than anything else. Unlike positivists, as Rene Descartes, who used to say, I can think, therefore I am, existentialists say Even though that I might exist in physical sense of this word, my existence can only be thought of in terms of objectivity, for as long as it derives out of emotional depths of my psyche. This is why, for existentialists, the notions of passion, immediacy, intensity, integrity, responsibility have a foremost importance, as the instruments that define the essence of existential mode of every human being.
According to existentialists, it is not a logical reasoning that motivates our actions but passion. The life of every person is something that is limited in space-time continuum, even though that it is directed towards infinity. Therefore, existentialists view peoples lives as being based on absurdist principle. Our psychological strive towards immortality does not come as a result of logical considerations. It is being motivated by irrational factors alone. Nietzsche thinks that it is a blind will that encourages us to continue on with our daily routine, even though that for many people, their lives would lose meaning, if they only thought of them from rationalist perspective. Thus, passion is nothing but the expression of our will. This is why it is very important for existentialist philosophical method.
The Essay on Nietzsche Passion Life Morality
The Morality of Passions by Nietzsche presents a view of man s relationship with passion contrary to the tradition and thought of major religion and proclaimed moral gurus. His main criticism of the way the church deals with passion is that it does not suggest spiritualizing the feelings that we all have approaching them as beautiful and good, but makes a thoughtless and quick judgement ...
The notion of immediacy corresponds to our subconscious strive towards instant gratification. In addition, it also represents the fact that people view their lives as the set of emotionally colored expressions of their subconscious desires. For example, in order for us to be able to think of our existence as something that makes sense, our memory associates it with the moments that we think are representative. However, there is no rational reason for us to consider some of these moments as representative and others as such that have nothing to do with the essence of our beings. Intensity is another term from existentialist vocabulary. Apparently, some peoples lives are less real than the lives of other people, because they are less intense. This is why; in times of immediate danger to our lives, for example, when we are at the front line, during the war, we appreciate every moment of our existence, because it might end at any second.
It explains why many people seek an adrenaline rush they simply want to add meaning to their lives by keeping it on the edge of death. Emerson refers to the extreme states of our existence as enlightenment through fear. According to existentialist philosophy, the existence precedes essence. Therefore, the essence is subjective category and there can be no things in itself, as suggested by metaphysics. This is why existentialists use terms from vocabulary of ethics, when it comes to evaluating the essence of every object. One of such terms is integrity.
It is emotionally motivated; however, this category is an essential tool of existential philosophical method. Integrity is our ability to adjust the way we act to the set of our beliefs, because only this allows us to achieve a psychological comfort. The concept of psychological comfort is what the existentialist thought revolves around. We cannot become psychologically satisfied out of discovering the universal meaning of life, because the principle of universality simply does not apply to the existential mode of human beings. However, the notion of integrity allows people to evaluate their lives, even though that every particular individual has a different understanding of what this idea stands for. Responsibility derives out of integrity; this is why existentialists often resort to this term, while they are discussing individuals relation to the objective reality. We turn subjectivity into objectivity by applying positivist categories. However, the positivist notions of duty, responsibility or ethical imperative have a subjective nature, because they derive out of our personal understanding of morality. Thus, we apply subjective notions to achieve a psychological comfort, which we clearly associate with objectivity. In its turn, it gives existentialists the reason to talk about absurd as truly universal principle that defines people existence.
The Essay on Established Views Meursault Life Existentialist
Nihilism is, literally, the belief in nothing. Originally the term was used to attack accused heretics during the middle ages. Over time, however, the term became applied to a particular branch of philosophy, a radical form of skepticism maintaining the nonexistence of any objective basis for truth. From this standpoint they demanded the complete rejection of all established views and ...
Jean Sartre used to say that people try to conceal the absurdist nature of their lives even from themselves by suggesting that there is a higher cause for everything. However, in post-industrial society, where the influence of Church rapidly declines, the existentialist worldview comes as something natural to many people. They focus on their own emotional experiences as something that might give them an insight on the purpose of their lives. As Emerson said once: No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no past at my back. According to Kierkegaard, individual suffers the most from the fact that others cannot fully understand his essence as intelligent being. It is a cornerstone of existentialist philosophy, which suggests that finding the psychological comfort is only the true purpose of every persons life.
It encourages social atomizing, among people, when they are told to be concentrated on their own problems. Therefore, we cannot think of existentialism as something that might benefit human kind, as whole It is a philosophy of absurd and frustration, which comes as a result of peoples biological quality being undermined by degenerative political and religious doctrine. Its main fallacy, as philosophical method, is the fact that it strives to establish a comprehensive vision of individuals role in the world, while denying objectivity in principle. This is the main reason why many people rightfully associate existentialism with spiritual depravity. The most prominent existentialist philosophers of the second half of twentieth century were cocaine addicts, which explain why our contemporary understanding of existentialism, as philosophical method, views it as something highly sophisticated, yet negative..
The Essay on Existentialism: Philosophy of Life and Existence
Existentialism “Existentialism is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world, yet resists the all-too-human temptation to resolve the confusion by grasping toward whatever appears or can be made to appear firm or familiar…The existential attitude begins a disoriented individual facing a confused world that he cannot accept. ” (Robert Solomon) Existentialist all share ...
