Existentialism Essay

Existentialism Essay
Existentialism, which spread rapidly over continental Europe after the First World War, is
essentially the analysis of the condition of man, of the particular state of being free, and of man's
having constantly to use his freedom in order top answer the ever– changing and unexpected
challenges of the day. According to the Existentialists, the starting point of every philosophical
investigation is concrete human existence. That means that human personality in itself should point
the way to the absolute value of reality. A single definition of existentialism is impossible.
Definitions, provided by dictionaries are only part of what existentialism is about. ...central to each
definition is the assertion that existentialism is a theory or...show more content...
When men acknowledges that there are others that makeup the society in which he exists, the man
discovers that he has identity. People know who he is and what he does, then he discovers that he is
"a being in the world of others"(4) If man can acknowledge his facticity situation, that is
accept that he is a being with biological and social past, that means that he is according to Sartre
acting clear headed, and in good faith. This means that man manifests his freedom authentically
and therefore his freedom is real. I think that Sartre's tenets are applicable to life. I can think of
many occasions in which we face realizations we are not prepare for and act without a clear head,
and this not allows us to achieve peace of our minds. Once a clear head is put to use, Sartre says,
the reconciliation and peace of mind will come (5) As atheist, Sartre states that no one can escape
from his/her freedom, and that the human being is absolute free, and as he believes there is no Got,
that means that our freedom is unrestricted. We and only we are responsible for
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Existentialism : A Philosophical Theory Essay
What is existentialism? Existentialism is a philosophical theory that emphasizes the existences of
one against it 's freedom of choice and will. It is also interpreted that humans come into the world
without a nature. Humanity has no universal established in advance principles or ethics common to
all of humankind. Since there is no preformed essence or definition exists of what is means to "be
human," a person must form its own conception of any existence by maintaining the actions of and
responsibility for its actions and choices. Consequently, a human being gains his/her essence
through individual choices and actions. It is simply through the process of living life that one can
define only itself. Existence in one does not include the consequence one will make.When we are
created in the world we are created without knowledge , we are produce to learn things throughout
life and chose the way and how we are going to live our lives. We have no choice but to make our
decisions for ourselves even if they are morally incorrect. The acceptance of one's decision will
maintain on what happened to and how one interpret the outcome. Though when humans are morally
incorrect, we are unlikely to admit it.Another concept of existentialism is resentment , the resentment
of one of it 's past cannot be ignored though one future can change. In No exit by Jean– Paul Sartre
each character is placed in the same room with no way out, it introduces existentialism in many ways.

Existentialism : What Do You Choose? Essay
Allow me to begin by saying that I find this particular assignment to be the universe's idea of some
sort of sick joke against me. Ironically, we are studying existentialism. What a peculiar coincidence
that I have to research for myself the topic of existentialism, while I feel as though I am going
through an existential crisis as of right now. It felt as though I was transported into one of those
cheesy high–school–esque movies that the Hollywood machine pumps out over and over; where the
books in class read by the characters always seem to connect with whatever angst–filled drama is
going on in their lives. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Forgive the melodramatic tone I
employ; it'll be ever–present in this paper due to the instruction to write in first person.
As we learnt in our very first lecture, existentialism means to become the individual you are – simply
put, the only meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Every person born must ask themselves:
"What do I choose?" and "Where do I go?" We are confronted with choices every single day, that we
are required to pick between – either or. It was Sarte who said: "We are condemned to be free." To
which he meant that each individual is responsible for their very existence. We, as humans, are
essentially beings that possess free will, and with free–will comes great responsibility, over one's life
that is. I believe that is why Sarte perceives this notion similarly to be 'condemned' – though, we are
lucky to be

In Existentialism is a Humanism, Sartre defines existentialism and explains his belief of "existence
before essence." He says that human beings don't have a pre–established purpose or something that
we have to be. He goes in more detail by saying, "... man first of all exists, encounters himself,
surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards. If man as the existentialist sees him is not
definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he
will be what he makes of himself." (Sartre 4) We havefree will and choose what we become and
how we define ourselves, not anyone else. The other argument is that we were pre destined to live
a certain way. An example of this would be that a pencil was made with the purpose to write. In this
case essence comes before existence. In addition, he goes into the role abandonment plays in
existentialism.
By "abandonment," Sartre means specifically abandonment by God. He isn't saying that God
existed and went away. Sartre uses the word "abandonment" in a metaphorical way that
emphasizes the sense when we realize that there is no God to warrant our moral choices, and to
give us guidelines for how to achieve salvation. By choosing this word he is showing how human
beings are alone in the universe with no external source of guidance. The consequence of this is
because there can be no guide, there are no values and no morality whatsoever. He says, "The
existentialist, on the contrary, finds

Essay Existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism refers to the philosophical movement or tendency of the nineteenth and twentyth
centuries. Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, a precise definition is
impossible; however, it suggests one major theme: a stress on individual existence and, consequently,
on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice {3}. Existentialism also refers to a family of
philosophies devoted to an interpretation of human existence in the world that stresses its
concreteness and its problematic character. Existentialism is often seen as an irrationlist revolt
against tradiational phylosphy. Although this may be true to a certain point, existentialism has
played a key role in the way...show more content...
Nineteenth–century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard
{4, 333} reacted against this tradition, insisting that the individual's highest good is to find his or her
own unique vocation. In terms of moral choice, existentialists have argued that there is no objective,
rational basis for decisions; they stress the importance of individualism in deciding questions of
morality and truth. Most existentialists have held that rational clarity is desirable wherever possible
but that life's most important questions are not accessible to reason or science. The first to anticipate
existentialism's major concerns was seventeenth–century
French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who denounced a systematic philosophy that presumes to explain
God and humanity. He saw life in terms of paradoxes: The human self, combining mind and body, is
itself a contradiction. Later, Kierkegaard rejected a total rational understanding of humanity and
history, stressing the ambiguity and absurdity of the human situation. Nineteenth–century German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche espoused tragic pessimism and life–affirming individual will.
Heidegger argued that human beings can never hope to understand why they are here; instead, each
individual must choose a goal and follow it with passionate conviction, aware of the certainty of
death and the ultimate meaninglessness of one's life. Twentieth–century French philosopher Jean

existentialism Essay
Existentialism provides a moving account of the agony of being in the world. The spirit of existen–
tialism has a long history in philosophy. But it be– came a major movement in the second half of the
20th century. Existentialism is not a systematic body of thought like Marxism or psychoanalysis.
Instead, it is more like an umbrella under which a very wide range of thinkers struggled with ques–
tions about the meaning of life.
Much of the appeal and popularity of Existential– ism is due to the sense of confusion, the crisis, and
the feeling of rejection and rootlessness that Euro– peans felt during World War II and its aftermath.
Existentialism's focus on each person's role in cre– ating meaning in their life was a major influence
...show more content...
His being does not emerge from necessity. If a human being rejects the false pretensions, the
illusions of his existence hav– ing a meaning, he encounters the absurdity, the fu– tility of life. The
human being's role in the world is not predetermined or fixed; every person is com– pelled to make
a choice. Choice is one thing the human being must make. The trouble is that most often the human
being refuses to choose. Hence, he cannot realize his freedom and the futility of his existence.
Basically existence is of two types: authentic and inauthentic forms of existence. Authentic existence
is contrasted with dynamic and is the being–for– itself, rising from the human being's bad faith, by
which the human being moves away from the bur– den of responsibility, through this beliefs in
dogma and by regarding himself as subject to outside in– fluences and his actions to be
predetermined.
There is a striking contrast between the authentic and the inauthentic forms of being; the authentic
being is the being of the human being and the inau– thentic being is the being for things. Yet,
authentic being is only rarely attained by the human being; still it is what the human being must
strive to gain. The inauthentic being–in–itself is characteristically distinctive of things; it is what the
human being is diseased with for his failure to see himself as and act according as a free agent and
his impotency to

Reaction Paper On Existentialism
The world we live in is an odd one; some cope with its absurdities through intensive faith, others
through utter disregard of all its meaning. Existentialism, however, leads us down a peculiar path
that blurs these concepts into one unique belief system. While we might be faced with situations
beyond our complete control, we do have the power to control how we handle said situations and
whether or not we choose to cultivate significance from them. The search for significance is very
primitive and so are the answers that have accompanied it throughout human history. Obviously,
life doesn't have a clearly stated purpose to it; it is up to each individual to create their own
relative purpose and find their own happiness in a life of suffering. This is exactly what
Existentialism proposes, that it is not possible to know the truth, so it is up to the individual to
create his or her own, and then create their own purpose. Merriam–Webster defines the philosophy
theory of Existentialism as a "...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." But Existentialism is not a concept that can simply be defined in one
fell swoop. Throughout our studies of philosophy, I found there to be two main concepts that act as
the foundation for the basic

Introduction
According to Wikipedia, "existentialism is the work of certain late nineteenth and twentieth century
European Philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal preferences, shared the belief of
philosophical thinking begins with the human which not merely thinking subject, but the acting,
feeling, living individual. While the predominant value of existentialist thought is commonly
acknowledged to be freedom, its primary virtue is authenticity" (Wikipedia.org). "In the view of the
existentialist, the individual 's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential
attitude", or a sense of disorientation, confusion, or dread in the face of an apparently meaningless
or absurd world. Many existentialists have also...show more content...
As a result, individuals dictate his truth, his reality or what they believe is good or bad. This is
against the other philosophies that relate what is good on laws and rules, norms and mores of the
society. For the existentialists there is no God or the Supreme Being who has influence on the
individuals. So, this philosophy emphasizes the uniqueness of each individual. In order to further
understand existentialism it is wise to look at some of its themes.
According to existentialists existence precedes essence. This means that we do not have the
purpose to live for that has been predetermined by anyone. The purpose of our living is not
decided by God or the ancestors. What we do and who we are is determined by ourselves. Each
individual is responsible of making his life, his future and his essence. We are free to determine
how we live. We should not be tied to the views and dictates of the society in which we live. We
make who we are by the choices we make on a day to day basis. We are responsible for coming up
with our own values. There is no a predetermined value system, a value system created by the
society or religion. What we do is what we value. We are not like equipment that is made for a
particular or special reason. A knife is made to cut; but we are not made for any particular purpose.
We determine the purpose for our lives.
The other aspect is that of anxiety. This facet says that we do not have an established reason for
existence, what we do depends on our

Essay about The Philosophy of Existentialism
'The most dangerous follower is he whose defection would destroy the whole party: that is to say,
the best follower.' – Friedrich Nietzsche
Being recognizable and distinctive nowadays is something most individuals seek after. To become
important or standing out in any community is not something today's individuals have created or
whatsoever! Ever since the twentieth century and even before, that belief and eagerness to prove
your existence has been noticeably present. Not only between common people has this been there,
also philosophers had sincerely thought about that humanly keenness to prove that one is different
and essential, and tried to philosophically explain it.
The term used for that theory is existentialism; as explained by...show more content...
Another observation is that most of these philosophers were either religious moralists (a
philosopher who specializes in moral issues related to religion), agnostic relativists (who are
people that believe the existence of a higher power can't be proven or disproven, as well as
believe that some elements of experience are relative in terms of what they depend on, for
example), or the last and most common type are amoral atheists (who are people that don't believe
in the existence of a higher god, however don't have their own sets of morals and ethics that they
follow).
This, we can most clearly regard in the two most famous philosophers of the 19th century that have
been one of the first; SГёren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Later on during the 20th century,
Martin Heidegger (a German philosopher) influenced other existentialist philosophers like Albert
Camus, Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, was a religious
philosopher that believed in god however was interested in the individual silent struggle of humans
with their so seeming meaningless life, and the way they used diversion to escape this world's
boredom.
Nietzsche on the other hand, the German philosopher, was a pure anti–Christian that argued that
"God is dead" (according to the change that has happened in the European churches at that

Albert Camus is considered one of the greatest existentialist writers of all time. However, although he
was considered an existentialist writer, Camus never labeled himself as an existentialist. "No, I am
not an existentialist" (Albert Camus: Lyrical and Critical Essays, Vintage (1970)) Camus rejected in
an 1945 interview, however in some of his literary works, some find that his writings are one of a
true existentialistic thinker. Although many contrast these thoughts and believe that Camus was
anything but a thinker of this philosophy, Camus is one of the main authors that people turn to
research and read to understand the thinking of existentialism. One of his most famous books, The
Plague, illustrates the need for a human to become an...show more content...
Camus, in his novel, The Plague, gives the reader a sense that he believes in and has total
confidence that man has the ability to fulfill himself, although denying to be an existentialist
himself. In this novel, Camus sets the story in Oran, Algeria, coincidently , where he grew up. He
describes the town as dull, boring, and soulless almost. " The town itself, let us admit, is ugly".
(Camus, p. 1) The author is showing us that there is nothing really special about Oran, or in
existentialist terms, the people don't make Oran special. Their only concern, or their only focus,
was conducting what they called "business"; nothing more. However, the main protagonist, Dr.
Rieux, was one of the few in his society to actually question, what is the true definition of life? He
seemed like he was the only one that realized that Oran was missing just this; life. He was curious
what was a person's or an individual's purpose in this dry town. When masses of dead rats were
lining the street, the public showed little curiosity with, of course, the exception of the doctor. As the
plague soon hit, the attitudes of the public had miniscule change. "Meanwhile they drank their beer,
nursed their sick, idled or doped themselves with work, filed documents in offices, or played the
phonograph at home without betraying any difference from the rest of us." (Camus, 184).
This shows the reader how powerless these people are. The power for them to chose and think for
themselves has

Jean Paul SartreВґs Existential Philosophy Essay
Jean Paul Sartre's Existential philosophy posits that is in man, and in man alone, that existence
precedes essence. Simply put, Sartre means that man is first, and only subsequently to his "isness"
does he become this or that. The implication in Sartre's philosophy is that man must create his own
essence: it is in being thrown into the world through consciounsess intent, loving, struggling,
experiencing and being in the world that man is alllowed to define itself. Yet, the definition always
remains open ended: we cannot say that a human is definitively this or that before its death and
indeed, it is the ultimate nothingness of death that being is defined. The concepts that Sartre
examines in Being and Nothingness exist as part of a...show more content...
There is no pre–programmed destiny, no inherent meaning in our lives. Instead, meaning arises from
the individual's impetus to will freely, to do what we choose in any given moment, and to then
reflect upon those choices and the ways in which they alter reality and the lives of others. Being and
Nothingness defines every individual as just that: a lone individual. The nature of our being is truly
isolated from the nature of other beings and the world around us – while our actions and essence
contain an implicit interconnectedness with the world, while meaning can only come from the
existence of external phenomena, our true self is like an island surrounded by impenetrable
nothingness – pregnant with the potential for possibility, but always empty in–itself.
There is no universal essence that can define every being, there is no divinely–inspired archetype for
the human to aspire to (called the adam–kadmon in Hebrew mysticism), as the existence of such a
blue–print for our essence would preclude freedom and bind us to an average, everyday
homogeneity. Considerations of freedom and choice are the crux of existential philosophy, and being
that Sartre is one of the primary philosophers of Existentialism, he examines both concepts with a
critical eye in Being and Nothingness. Sartre states plainly that authentic choices are wholey and
fully undetermined; if we choose and decide based merely upon the edicts of a religious code or
some sort of secular ethical

Subjectivity in Existentialism is a Humanism
In Existentialism is a humanism, French philosopher and existentialist Jean–Paul Sartre defends
existentialism from 20th century critics who believed that its overly subjective nature promotes
anguish, abandonment, and despair. Sartre explains these common misconceptions about
existentialism and argues that it is not a pessimist point of view, but the complete opposite. In what
follows, I will explain how Sartre not only invalidates the surging misconceptions, but how he also
turns his explanation into an optimistic and humanitarian work.
During the 20th century, many philosophers including Communists and Christians were criticizing a
surging attitude commonly known as "existentialism". Communists, for example, argued that the
emphasis that existentialism has on individual choice leads to contemplation rather than to action.
Christians reproached the way that existentialists overlook the dignity that originates from being
created from the image of God. Also, publics viewed subjectivity in existentialism as a bad thing
because if human values originate from subjective human choices, then all human action is arbitrary.
They argued that from one 's own subjective point of view, whatever one does is the right thing.
Therefore, this creates the notion that life does not have predetermined values. In other words: to an
existentialist, there is no such thing as a standard of values because there is no God or perfect being
to

Existentialism Paper
Existentialism Paper Existentialism is a very broad subject in which there are many philosophers
who have studied it and what it means. Some of whom are Franz Kafka, Soren Kierkegaard, and
Friedrich Nietzsche. They all had specific views on life and what it means. The characters that we
read, and watch show some of the aspects of this philosopher's ideas on existentialism. Claudius
shows Kafka's idea that all actions will come back and hurt you somehow. Ophelia shows Sorens
idea of that love is all, it gives, and it takes all. Phil Connors shows Nietzsche's idea that you should
do the right thing in life.This is how I believe that each character represents the philosopher's idea.
Franz Kafka wrote that " ...they are hopelessly caught, not...show more content...
In the beginning of the movie Phil was a selfish prick who didn't care for anyone but himself.
During his time he would commit crimes, use women, and be rude to his new's team. But later
one in his time he started to be a little bit nicer he Rita and others in the community. Finally he
found his way out of the loop by giving back to the community and devoting his entire time in the
loop to helping others and finding actual love in Rita and treating her and others with the respect
they deserve. Existentialism is a huge concept that covers things from love to revenge and so
many people have tried to find its meaning. Franz Kafka, Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich
Nietzsche are just 3 of the many philosophers who find their meaning of existentialism. Franz
Kafka talks about how setting up a plan may come back with the gravest of consequences, Claudius
represents this idea. Soren Kierkegaard Says that love gives all and takes all Ophelia represents this
idea. Finally Friedrich Nietzsche says that one should devote their lives to charity, Phil Connors
represents this

Essay about Existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that stresses individual existence. Human beings are
totally free and responsible for their own acts. Another main idea of existentialism is the limitation
of reason and the irreducibility of experience to any system. Man is not a detached observer of the
world; rather, he "exists" in a special sense – he is "in the world." Stones, trees, and other objects do
not share this existence, and man is open to the world and the objects in it. There is no set limit to
how many choices man must make, and no particular set of rules or values one must follow.
Rather, there is simply a framework in which action and choice are to be viewed, implying that there
are right and wrong ways of...show more content...
From the Christian standpoint, existentialists are charged with denying the reality and seriousness of
human undertakings, since, if they reject God's commandments and the eternal verities, there no
longer remains anything but pure caprice, with everyone permitted to do as he pleases and
incapable, from his own point of view, of condemning the points of view and acts of others.
In any case, what can be said from the very beginning is that by existentialism we mean a doctrine
which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies
a human setting and a human subjectivity.
As is generally known, the basic charge against existentialists is that they put the emphasis on the
dark side of human life. Consequently, existentialism is regarded as something ugly; that is why
existentialists are said to be naturalists; and if they are, it is rather surprising that in this day and
age we cause so much more alarm and scandal than does naturalism, properly so called. The kind
of person who can take in his stride such a novel as Zola's The Earth is disgusted as soon as he
starts reading an existentialist novel; the kind of person who is resigned to the wisdom of the
ages–which is pretty sad–finds us even sadder. Yet, what can be more disillusioning than saying "true
charity begins

Existentialism Essay example
In his 1946 essay Existentialism, Jean–Paul Sartre undertakes the task of defending existentialism
against what he defines as "charges" (341) brought against it. Sartre begins to outline the "charges"
brought against existentialism and further, existentialists. Following the medieval quaestio–form,
Sartre begins with the statement of the objection, a short discussion, and then his reply to each. The
first of the charges is that of quietism. "First, it has been charged with inviting people to remain in a
kind of desperate quietism because, since no solutions are possible, we should have to consider
action in this world as quite impossible" (341). Historically, quietism was a Christian philosophy that
advocated withdrawal from worldly...show more content...
Before I begin to discuss the replies Sartre provides for each objection raised, it is important to
establish what Sartre believes existentialism to be. That is, it is important to understand exactly what
Sartre is defending. Sartre begins his definition by defining the two groups of existentialists:
Christian existentialists and atheistic existentialists. Sartre aligns himself with the atheistic
existentialists for the remainder of the essay. What the existentialist philosophers have in
common, and where Sartre begins his definition, is the idea that existence precedes essence. The
reader is provided the example of a paper cutter. A designer has a plan for a paper cutter in his/her
mind and sets about creating it with the preconceived notion of its function. This preconceived
notion is the essence of the object and thus for the object (a paper cutter) essence precedes
existence. That is to say the paper cutters being is predetermined. It would follow that for essence
to precede the existence in a person, there must be an individual to conceive of the beings essence
and thus bring about its existence. However, Sartre declares that there is no God and

Essay about Existentialism
"The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it."
This quote, by Anton Chekhov, seems obvious and easy to relate to. However, it perfectly describes
the concept of existentialism, which is neither obvious nor relatable. Existentialism is "a modern
philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the
demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and
seemingly meaningless universe" ("Existentialism"). Existentialism is a difficult philosophy to
grasp, but by exploring examples in literature and art, one can come to a better understanding of its
basic tenets.
The first tenet of existentialism is individualism and alienation, which is revealed...show more
content...
Before his metamorphosis, his days were mindless, and since all he did was work, he was alienated
from his family, who did not appreciate him; also due to his obsession with work, he did not partake
in society, either. After his metamorphosis, no one understood Gregor, making him entirely alone.
Just as The Metamorphosis demonstrates the alienation tenet of existentialism, "A Hunger Artist,"
also by Franz Kafka, describes the theme of individualism. The hunger artist is a man who
"performs" for his audiences by locking and displaying himself in a cage where he then proceeds
to starve himself. His fasts last for long periods, stretching for forty days at some points. He is
obviously alone and isolated in the cage, but he is also alienated from society. This is because he
rejects the practice of eating, which he does because he just does not like food. The hunger artist
represents famous musicians, writers, painters, and other artists, who are alone because they are
misunderstood and essentially isolated from the realm of society. This perfectly describes the
existential tenet of individualism and alienation. "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Gilman also
shows this tenet. "The Yellow Wallpaper" is about Jane, a woman suffering from what one might
interpret as postpartum depression. Her husband, John, who is a doctor, prescribes

Example Of Existentialism
Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that began in the mid to late 19th and
reach its peak in mid–20th century, and was largely spread through the works of French
existentialist like Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir (Mastin L, 2008). There
is no agreed definition of existentialism, as those who are considered as "existentialist" do not share
the same exact thought on the subject though the starting point may be fairly linked. Jean Paul
Sartre, defines existentialism as a school of thought where one's existence comes before his essence.
Being an atheist existentialist, he argues that there is no God and that man existed first and defines
himself afterwards. Thus "there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of
it. Man simply is" (Jean Paul Sartre,...show more content...
Eliza Binte Elahi (2014), explains that metaphysics deals with questions that can't be answered by
Science, like the existence of God or the difference between reality and perception thus
questioning the pure existence of human beings on earth. TS Eliot is considered to be a fine
example of a metaphysical poet as "he wrestles with noumenal experiences using extended
metaphor, as the 'Things of God's cannot be known in any other way'" (Dr Niamh C, 2012).
According to his biography, one of his famous poem "The Waste Land", was written when he was
facing some hardships in his life; his marriage was falling and he was suffering of nervous
disorder. The physical and mental distress of the poet may provide an indication about the state of
mind in which "The Waste Land" was written, which seems to have greatly influenced the choice
of the title of the poem itself. The sub title "The Burial of the Dead" is equally troubling providing
an obscure and dark atmosphere about the poem. It seems like the titles chosen act as a foretaste of
what is to come

Existentialism : A Philosophical Movement
"The existential attitude begins with a disoriented individual facing a confused world that the cannot
accept" – Robert Solomon Existentialism is best considered a philosophical movement established
after World War II. People in this movement examined the problem of life for human beings. Each
existentialist believes that life is absurd and has no meaning. Their common concern was with the
"human condition". Existentialists have differing evaluations of the human condition but all of them
believe that "existence precedes essence". This means that people are born without pre–existing or
pre–determined circumstances or rules by which to conduct their lives. Sartre was an atheist and
therefore didn't believe in the morals set forth by the divine creator God. People come into the
world lacking essence, and simply exist and can make choices to determine their essence. All
existentialists reject systems which propose to have answers to the definitive questions of life.
Existentialists believed that believing in an all–encompassing system such as Christianity was
detrimental to a person's true capability of being free. People who believe in God believe that
"essence precedes existence", which is the opposite of existentialist belief. Soren Kierkegaard's
father believed that a youthful denunciation of God had brought a curse upon his family and that all
his children would die before the age of thirty–four, which was true for all but Kierkegaard and one
brother. Kierkegaard studied

Existentialism Essay
Jean–Paul Sartre says "man is nothing else but what he makes of himself" (762). This
existentialist view depicts the idea that one is not based on the essence of a soul, but rather, based
on decisions made throughout life. Sartre also believes that every man is responsible for all men.
One may choose his marriage partner, however, inchoosing to marry, one chooses monogamy.
Decisions that individuals make will collectively create a set of principles and beliefs for all of man.
Many people believe that a person's decisions are a reflection of his soul and personality. However,
it is more likely that the conclusion a person reaches is due to the influence of different ideas, as well
as the circumstances surrounding the choices....show more content...
There is no longer the sense of "God judging man" so one must make his own decisions
and based on them he is "condemned to be free" (765–766). Sartre believes that man is
condemned because he did not choose to exist, but is also free because he is completely responsible
for his actions.
Existentialism does not allow room for mistake. A person has no one to blame for bad decisions or
misunderstandings. One cannot say, "I have had bad luck" because existentialism does
not believe in fortune or misfortune, but only in personal decisions. This enhances the true reality
of life. Situations create the future and therefore hopes and dreams are a mere loss of reality. The
future is produced by a person's decisions and so one should not dream but rather, make decisions
that will lead to a beneficial life in the future.
Sartre also says "a man who lies and makes excuses for himself by saying 'not everybody
does that,' is someone with an uneasy conscience, because the act of lying implies that a universal
value is conferred upon the lie" (764). This further illustrates the concept that there is an
unwritten law for man, and creates the idea of good and bad. There are choices that are universally
made when a person is placed in the same situation, with the same circumstances. Sartre believes that
man should base his decisions on the thought that all of mankind is watching and will guide

Weaknesses Of Existentialism
This assignment is about "the main features of the existentialist view" (UoPeople, 2017), or
existentialism, as well as the major strengths and weaknesses, and what is appealing or discouraging
about Sartre's Theory. First and foremost, existentialism is "a philosophical theory or approach that
emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their
own development through acts of the will" (Oxforddictionary, 2017). In other ways is a philosophy
that focuses on human existence and the important of their personal freedom, decision, and
commitment. It originated with the 19th century philosophers Kierkegaard, who was religious, and
Nietzsche, an anti–Christian, though they never used the word in their work. It an atheist French
existentialist 20th century philosophers who first adopted the term to self–description called
Jean–Paul Sartre. It was the 20th century philosophers like Sartre, Albert Camus, an atheist, and
Simone de Beauvoir who used the term in the works or writings. The main features of existentialism
are existence before essence, reason is not able to answer life completely, alienation, fear, shivering,
and anxiety, the coming face–to–face with nothingness, and freedom.
One of the main features is existence before essence. This phrase was coined by Jean–Paul...show
more content...
It is a man who can bring meaning or purpose to himself and without man there is no meaning.
Another thing is the classification of real things into two groups, which is being–in–itself and
being–for–itself. The term being–for–itself is the one which is conscious and free, while
being–in–itself is the one which is not conscious and

Existentialism Essay

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