guest bd
Existentialism
A presentation by Andrew Marrs
Which chair is a chair?
Figure 2
Pollychester. “Broke Chair.” Polly Chester, 20 Sept. 2015, pollychester.com/2015/01/25/the-broken-chair-person/
Figure 1
Vintage Wood Chair. dcregroup.us/old-fashioned-wooden-chair.html.
“Words are loaded pistols.” - Jean-Paul Sartre
Merriam-Webster:
Existentialism is chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.
A history of Existentialism in literature
Existentialism infiltrated literature in the 1920s. Born from European Philosophers, it took the form of fictional short stores, plays, novellas, poems and essays.
After WWII, Existentialism reached the heights of its popularity and influence reached into theology, drama, arts, psychology and literature.
“Struggle is what it means to be alive and free.” – David Budbill
Existentialism in Practice
Existentialism rejects reason as a mechanism for the motivation of men.
Interwoven into the human condition is a drive to understand and accept life as it is – no faith, no destiny, and no higher identity. The human struggle is a struggle because we are human.
Essentially, one must accept oneself for who he is in a superficially meaningless world; overcome self-imposed limits to find purpose in the “absurd” world.
“Man is nothing else but what he makes himself.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
Soren Kierkegaard
(1813 – 1855)
Known as the father of Existentialism.
Jean-Paul Sartre
(1905 – 1980)
Popularized Existentialism in the 1940s with his novels and plays.
Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844 – 1900)
Coined the Term “Nihilism.”
His philological views helped
mainstream existentialism.
IMPORTANT FIGURES IN EXITENTIALISM
“I rebel therefore I exist.” - Albert Camus
Figure 3
“Soren Kierkegaard.” Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 15 Apr. 2013, home.isi.org/tags/kierkegaard.
Figure 4
"Jean-Paul Sartre - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 4 Sep 2017. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1964/sartre-bio.html>
Figure 5
“Nietzsche in Basel, c. 1875.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche.
Existentialism in Literature
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Nietzsche
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir
“Life should be lived on the edge of life.” - Philippe Petit
Modern ExistentiaL writers
Fight Club,
by Chuch Palahniuk
Do Androids Dream of Electic Sheep?,
by Philip K. Dick
The Green Pen,
by Eloy Moreno
“If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.” - Lewis Carroll
Figures 6-8
Srinivasiah, Grace. “Early Bird Books.” Early Bird Books, 29 Sept. 2015, earlybirdbooks.com/9-essential-novels-for-the-modern-existentialist/.
Existentialism in the arts
The Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dali
Existential Angst – Andrew Baines
Blind Ally – Park Ki Pyung
“You are free and that is why you are lost.” – Franz Kafka
Figure 9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory
Figure 10
Sierzputowski, Kate. “Hollow Figurative Sculptures by Park Ki Pyung.” Colossal , 24 Mar. 2017, www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/03/hollow-figurative-sculptures-by-south-korean-artist-park-ki-pyung/.
Figure 11
Cain, Benjamin. “Art by Andrew Baines.” Rants within the Undead God, 15 Apr. 2017, rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.com/2017/04/freud-and-nietzsche-psychiatry-between.html.
Bibliography
“Existentialism.” All About Philosophy, www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existentialism.ht. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Ker, Anna. “Existential Sculptures By Park Ki Pyung.” Ignant, 20 Mar. 2017, www.ignant.com/2017/03/20/existential-sculptures-by-park-ki-pyung/.
Srinivasiah, Grace. “9 Essential Novels for the Modern Existentialist.” Early Bird Books, 29 Sept. 2015, earlybirdbooks.com/9-essential-novels-for-the-modern-existentialist/.
Magnus, Bernd . “Friedrich Nietzsche.” ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 19 Aug. 2015, www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-Nietzsche. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Existentialism
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/existentialism
WISE OLD SAYINGS
http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/existentialism-quotes/page-2/
"Jean-Paul Sartre - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 3 Sep 2017. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1964/sartre-bio.html
Søren Kierkegaard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard