Phil discussion 10
Philosophy 1001
PPT 15
Existentialism
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Phil Ppt 1 Definitions day 2
Phil Ppt 1 Definitions day 2
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Smile
TERMS TO KNOW
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- Existentialism - from existence
- Continental Philosophy - Continental = European
- Existence Precedes Essence
- Anguish
- Authentic life
A CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
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- Existentialism emerged in 20th century. It is represented significantly in literature and art as well as in philosophy.
- A “continental” (European) philosophy
TWO BASIC EXISTENTIAL THEMES
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- #1 Existence Precedes Essence
Man exists as a conscious being not in accordance with any definition, essence, generalization or system.
Existence has primacy over essence.
So- instead starting with a philosophy to understand life, start with self, your existence, and create your own meaning
Plato- Essence (form of man) precedes existence; can not understand self without the innate form of man that exists in the being world.
Christianity; Essence (child of God) precedes existence; can not understand self apart from relationship to creator.
TWO BASIC EXISTENTIAL THEMES
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- #2 Anguish
- There is no purpose or meaning for life- to look for purpose is absurd.
- Life is harsh and the angst it offers is dreaded.
- When you finally accept this reality, (existential crisis) you can then begin to build the meaning and essence of your life.
- Accepting this freedom and acting on it takes courage.
- The life so built becomes an “authentic” life.
- This life is built without deities, authorities, philosophy or theology.
KEY EXISTENTIALIST FIGURES
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Father of Existentialism
Soren Kierkegaard
1813-1855 (Denmark)
Theistic Existentialism
God exists but humanity
in fallen state; suffering, sin, guilt, anxiety.
Each person chooses to pursue God in an individual way.
Theistic/atheistic- most existentialists are atheistic
Kierkegaard very critical of the church.
KEY EXISTENTIALIST FIGURES CONT’D
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Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900 (German)
“God is dead.”
Religion is as crutch for avoiding
decisive actions. Must live as if
nothing else exists beyond life.
Failure to live, to take risks, is a failure to realize potential.
THE PARABLE OF THE MADMAN- NIETZSCHE
- "Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is it not more and more night coming on all the time? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? With what water could we purify ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whosoever shall be born after us - for the sake of this deed he shall be part of a higher history than all history hitherto.“
- (from “The Gay Science” 1882)
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KEY EXISTENTIALIST FIGURES CONT’D
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Jean-Paul Sartre 1905-1980 (French)
“Being and Nothingness” 1934
To vindicate human freedom from determinism
Simone de Beauvoir 1908-1986 (French)
“The Second Sex” 1949
QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS
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Is Existentialism a coping philosophy?
- (Sartre et. al.- Europe suffered two world wars back to back causing significant disillusionment about life?)
Atheistic Existentialism is materialistic but not deterministic- if deterministic, no freedom- freedom to choose your own life is a key theme
Existentialist argument about God- only room in the universe for one free agent, either God or people. Since people must have free will, God cannot exist.
EXISTENTIALIST THEMES
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Importance of individual
Importance of (courageous) free choice/ obligation to live life to the full
Anxiety about life
Meaning (unachievable) and absurdity
Authenticity (face challenges w/o crutch)
Social criticism i.e. traditions and systems of thought are only human invention so can critique them.
Importance of personal relations
Existentialism helps pave way for Postmodernism
-Theme list- Andrew Irvine
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Existentialist Art
Andrew Wyeth- “Christina’s World”
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Existentialist Art
Edvard Munch- “The Scream ”
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Existentialist Literature
Albert Camus 1913- 1960
Author of novels, short stories and philosophical works often with existentialist themes.
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
-Camus
TERMS TO KNOW
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- Existentialism - from existence
- Continental Philosophy - Continental = European
- Existence Precedes Essence
- Anguish
- Authentic life
THINGS TO KNOW
- Can you explain what is meant by Existence Precedes Essence and how that idea compares, for example, with Plato?
- Can you list the names of the existentialist thinkers in this ppt?
- Can you list existentialist themes and describe what they mean?
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THINGS TO PONDER
- How do you understand yourself as a being? Do you start with something apart from yourself to understand life or do you start with yourself?
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- end
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ETHICS 2002
PPT
7
GENERAL ETHICAL CONCEPTS
PPT#7
1