Existentialism

Definition:

The term “existentialism” coined by the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel in the mid-1940s
is a philosophical movement that emerged in response to the crisis of meaning and the
changing social and cultural landscape of the modern world. Existentialism believes that
individuals must take personal responsibility for themselves and that they must confront the
challenges and uncertainties of existence. It therefore focuses on the subjective experience
and holds that the only way to rise above the essentially absurd condition of humanity (which
is characterized by suffering and inevitable death) is by exercising our personal freedom and
choice.

Historical Background:

“Existentialism” is often viewed as a historically situated event that emerged against the
backdrop of the Second World War, the Nazi death camps, and the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which created the circumstances for “the existentialist moment”
(Baert 2015), where an entire generation was forced to confront the human condition and the
anxiety-provoking givens of death, freedom, and meaninglessness. Traces of Existentialism
can be found in the life of the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who in the fourth century B.C.E.
founded the Cynics, who distrusted civilization's artifice. Existential ideas also appear at
various times throughout the world's literature, such as when Job in the Old Testament
questioned whether his concept of God was truly relevant to his troubles, or when
Shakespeare had Hamlet question the purpose of his own existence by asking, "To be, or not
to be?" The first philosopher to touch upon existential themes was the French writer Blaise
Pascal, who, in the seventeenth century, rejected the idea that rational humans could explain
God. Like the later existentialists, Pascal accepted life as a series of irrational paradoxes. To
some extent, Existentialism is the ultimate form of Humanism (thirteenth and fourteenth
century movement as a response to oppressive church doctrine) because it takes all
responsibility for human happiness and achievement out of the hands of fate and places it in
the hands of human beings.
Characteristics:

Existence precedes essence

The existentialist movement asked, “What if we exist first?” One of the fundamental concepts
of existentialism is that ‘existence precedes essence’. The essence of a thing is what the thing
is where as existence refers rather to the fact that it is. It was Plato who said that the
surrounding world is the world of essences. Even existence is an embodiment of an essence
the self which is a part of a universal essence. The majority of other western philosophers
carried forward this theory. Descartes even affirmed the reality of existence because of its
essence –thinking, as he said ‘I think therefore I am’. Sartre’s monumental work ‘Being and
Nothingness’ is basically a formulation of this theory of man. As Black ham writes; “But for
Sartre there is no creator of man. Man discovered himself. His existence comes first; he is
now in the process of determining his essence. Man first is, and then he defines himself.”

Freedom

At the heart of existential philosophy is human freedom. Existentialists refer that freedom to
be a genuinely existing and valuable feature of human condition. Man is basically free.
According to Sartre, “Freedom is identical with existence and man is not only free but he is
condemned to be free.” This infinite freedom entails upon him a heavy sense of
responsibility. So Existentialism strongly stresses freedom of individual.

Absurdity

The concept of the Absurdity contains the idea that life has no meaning beyond what
meaning we give it. Existential philosophers believe that life is absurd; it does not have any
pre-given meaning it is meaningless and it has no ultimate purpose, but we humans need to
make sense of it and to give it a meaning. Albert Camus stated, “That individuals should
embrace the absurd condition of human existence while also defiantly continuing to explore
and search for meaning”.

Anguish

Anguish is another fact of existential philosophy it is also called anxiety, dread and
uneasiness. It is a feeling of unease you get when you start to recognize that life is absurd. It
is generally held to be a negative feeling arising from the experience of human freedom and
responsibility. A person’s awareness of his unlimited freedom can be source of anxiety or
anguish. Kierkegaard said, “human beings enjoy a freedom of choice that we find both
appealing and terrifying”

Forlornness

This is the feeling of loneliness you get when you realize that no one can help you, it make
sense of your existence. Existential forlornness is closely related to existential anguish; it is a
result of facing up to the full consequences of the non-existence of being left of one’s own, of
having been abandoned; it is the experience of utter aloneness. Sartre said that humans are
forlorn. He believes that humans are trapped with their sense of being free. This sense of
freedom brings conditions of forlorn.

Authenticity

Authenticity is another significant concept of existential philosophy. Authenticity is the

degree to which one is true to one's own life despite external pressures. Life of authenticity is
to live in a way that is in tune with the truth of who they are as humans and in the world in
which they resides. Lake of authenticity is considered bad faith in existential philosophy.
Sartre in War Diaries writes that “authenticity consists in adopting human reality as one’s
own”.

Search for meaning

Existentialism explores the individual's search for meaning. Existentialist thinkers like Albert
Camus grapple with the tension between the recognition of the absurd and the human desire
for meaning. Albert Camus says "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."