DE Weekly: Freedom, Responsibility, & Political Existentialism
Much like other philosophies, Existentialism carries with it a political dimension, insofar as it can be applied to the larger realm of groups of people and societies in general. For example, in the same ways that the arguments laid out in Plato’s The Republic have provided discourse for human politics, so have the writings of Existentialism been applied.
One does not need to look too far in the literature to see this: Albert Camus’s The Rebel and many of Jean-Paul Sartre’s short stories (“The Wall,” “The Childhood of a Leader,” and “Dirty Hands,” to name just a few) all have something to do with our political nature.
DE Weekly: The History, Development, and Precursors of Existentialism
While it is true that Existentialism arguably did not cement itself as a real, solidified philosophy until the twentieth century, its core tenets were explored and espoused over the centuries preceding the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, who organized it into a cohesive school of thought.
I have written about how certain ideas we would today call “existentialist” in nature can be found as far back as Aristotle’s time, can be gleaned from theologians such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, and were present in the work of Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others.
DE Weekly: Situatedness, the Crowd, & the Limits of Freedom
Last week, I wrote about radical freedom in Existentialism: a facet of our human condition that gives us the ability to choose which actions we take in our lives, and which contributes, ultimately, to the outcomes of our lives. I wrote also about the anxiety of choice we all encounter as a result of this, and the despair that might follow.
Further, I described what “genuine” free will might mean for us as humans, and how to exercise it appropriately.
DE Weekly: The Anxiety of Choice, Despair, & Genuine Free Will
In Existentialism, freedom is one of the basest conditions of human existence that contributes to our human nature. Our freedom is as radical as it is inescapable; as humans, the existentialists would say, we have no predetermined purpose or meaning, meaning it up to us to define our essence through our own choices.
In writing that we are “condemned to be free,” Jean-Paul Sartre was emphasizing the true inescapability of the level of our radical freedom. That we are unable to shirk this level of sheer responsibility for our own lives might lead to despair.
DE Weekly: Bad Faith, Sartre’s Waiter, & Who Are We?
I have mentioned Jean-Paul Sartre's idea of mauvaise foi––“bad faith”––in countless newsletters over the years, as it is a crucial concept to understand when discussing such Existentialist ideas as the burden of choice, authenticity, and radical freedom. But, what does bad faith actually look like in action? And, what are its consequences?
Sartre defines bad faith as a self-deception whereby we either convince ourselves or allow ourselves to be convinced that we lack the freedom necessary to escape the anxiety of being through exercising our personal responsibility to do so.
DE Weekly: Purpose, Complete Responsibility, & the Meaning of Life
Perhaps the biggest question the philosophy of Existentialism aims to solve is, “What is the meaning of life?” Indeed, this question has been tried by all major philosophies and religions in one way or another. But, has it ever been truly answered?
Aristotle’s writings on the “human function” as it relates to aligning our souls with their highest capacity, St. Thomas Aquinas’s writings on working to achieve the beatific vision of Christ, and Immanuel Kant’s rationalism aiming for the highest good are just some answers posited to this question on the meaning of life.
DE Weekly: Existential Metaphysics, Phenomenology, & Acts of Consciousness
Last week, I wrote about existential aesthetics, or what it is that makes something existential in nature––art, novels, movies, songs, and everything in between. I would like to continue the conversation about existential aesthetics in this newsletter, specifically the metaphysics that define it, and art as an expression of human freedom.
At its core, existential aesthetics means to mirror certain aspects of human experience and existence. We are thrown into the world with no inherent or apparent meaning, forced to be the authors of our own lives. How do we do it?
DE Weekly: Art, Angst, & Existential Aesthetics
Sometimes, I will be reading something, or watching something, or I’ll simply see something and think to myself, “There is something existential about this.” Perhaps it is just me, and the amount of time I spend with the philosophy––but, I’ve seen others make similar observations, so maybe it is something inside of all of us to some degree.
Existentialism is called what it is because of its emphasis on existence: how humans exist and operate in the world as unique beings.
DE Weekly: Heidegger, Dostoevsky, & Authentic Being-for-Others
Over the past two weeks, I’ve written about the various writings and opinions of Existentialist authors who gave us a foundation for what could be called “existential ethics.”
Two weeks ago, I wrote about Emmanuel Levinas, who opined that we should treat ethics as “first philosophy,” meaning fundamentally underpinning our philosophy should be the obligation of ethical responsibility.
DE Weekly: Values, Moral Relativism, & Existential Ethics
Last week, I introduced Emmanuel Levinas, the twentieth-century French philosopher who posited ethics as “first philosophy.” To him, this meant that the force fundamentally underpinning all of philosophy is our ethical responsibility.
Before anything else, Levinas argued, we are first of all called into existence to be unconditionally obligated to serve others. Our first act as a Self, then, should be to consider the Other.