DE Weekly: The Look, the Self, & the Other
In existentialism, consciousness is the key to understanding human existence. When discussing conscious beings––namely, humans––it helps to distinguish between two types of conscious beings: the Self and the Other.
In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of “Being-for-others”, and how this can open us up to accept that we need to include others in our search for meaning. In short, a meaningful life must consider and include other people. It can’t be egocentric.
DE Weekly: Ego, Busyness, & Being-For-Others
One point we encounter again and again when reading many of the existentialists is that we are solely responsible for finding and creating meaning in our own lives. The reason we are tasked with this is because, according to the existentialists, there is no central, universal meaning out there.
This is a daunting task. How do we find and create meaning where there is none? The answer for me is probably different than the answer for you.
DE Weekly: Mind, Matter, & Eliminativism
One of the great contentions posited in existentialism is that, in a world devoid of inherent meaning, we are responsible for making meaning in our own lives. Through acceptance of the absurdity of life and radical ownership of our own choices, this is possible.
Another contention of existentialism––and this one is more important, in my opinion––is that this reality is not a bad thing. This is of ultimate importance to recognize, because it’s what distinguishes the philosophy from nihilism.
DE Weekly: Frost, Jaspers, & The Road Not Taken
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both”, wrote Robert Frost in his 1915 poem, “The Road Not Taken”.
These lines begin the first stanza of one of Frost’s most famous poems, one you’ve likely heard before.
DE Weekly: Vervaeke, Van Gogh, & The Meaning Crisis
Of all the ways I’ve seen existentialism explained, one of my favorites remains the following: existentialism is a profound symptom of the human condition.
Here’s how I interpret this: while existentialism is a bona fide philosophy in its own right, it’s also something innate to human beings, as innate as our consciousness and sense of self, perhaps born of the two.
DE Weekly: Schrödinger’s Cat, Nausea, & Reality
Across philosophy and other mediums such as science, people have invented and relied on thought experiments to explain certain concepts and demonstrate different layers to a problem.
In quantum mechanics, one such thought experiment is “Schrödinger’s cat”.
DE Weekly: Ozymandias, Breaking Bad, & Illusion
The great existential question has always been “What is the meaning of life?” The consensus vote of the existentialists was, more or less, “Life has no inherent meaning.” If that’s the case, then it’s up to us to create our own meaning.
That’s all well and good. But we’re still left without a solution. So, we have to ask ourselves, What do I do if life has no meaning? Furthermore, how do I find my purpose?
DE Weekly: Phenomenology, Experience, & Seinfeld
Each week over the past few months, I’ve written about the “big questions” posed by the existentialists. These questions concern our existence, the essence of what makes us human, why our lives have meaning, and why these questions cause us a great deal of anxiety.
But, downstream of all these questions is what I consider “the big one”: How do we live each and every day in accordance with living a life of meaning?
DE Weekly: Peterson, Kierkegaard, & Anxiety
The crux of existentialism is its contention with the human condition. We are born into this world without our choosing, we must contend with the totality of our freedom, and we are forced to make a series of choices that define the meaning of our life.
I’ve written about the human condition before–what the existentialists thought about it, what their suggestions were to face it…
DE Weekly: Hancock, Mortality, & Mystery
The old adage goes, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” That phrase was written by American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
I view only half of these certainties as truly legitimate, and that is death.