Existentialism

“Existence precedes and commands essence.” Jean-Paul Sartre

Philosophy Literature Psychotherapy Existentialism is an interdisciplinary movement that finds expression in three genres: Philosophy Literature Psychotherapy

Some History… Roots in Enlightenment: “at a time when the faith of people turned in varying degrees from God to reason and humanity itself.” It was not recognized as a movement until the twentieth century, but grew popular in post-WWII years due in large part to society’s response to the irrationality of a life. The fame and popularity of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus led to popularity in the US in the late forties and fifties. This popularity led to the backward process of sanctification.

Philosophical Lineage: Edmund Husserl Frederick Nietzche Soren Kierkegaard Martin Heidegger Jean-Paul Sartre

Literary Influence: Fyodor Dostoevsky Ralph Ellison Albert Camus Franz Kafka Ernest Hemingway Simone de Beauvoir

William Shakespeare? “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.”

Common Themes in Existentialist Writing: Freedom Choice Authenticity Alienation Rebellion What does it mean to be a human being?

“…if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality. What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene and only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus, there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. Not only is man what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after this thrust toward existence. Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself…

…But if existence really does precede essence, man is responsible for what he is. Thus, existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men.”

The Wall