Term
| For an existentialist, philosophy must be... |
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Definition
Transformative
Engaging with life |
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| How is Existentialism a humanism? |
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To be a human is to 'exist'
To 'exist' is to transcend one's facticity (how it is now/facts which hold true of us like age, height etc)
Only humans exist like this |
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| Conscious existence, humans |
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| Unconscious existence, objects |
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| What does it mean to be a being-for-itself |
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Perceive/live in a world of possibilities- you could do many different things in a given scenario
You can transcend your situation ('exist') by perceiving how else it could be ('nothingness'). Beings-in-themselves cannot - slaves to the present |
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| The negation of the situation allowing a person to transcend it/imagine a different scenario |
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| Existence precedes essence |
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We create our own essence, unlike a paper-knife (which has teleology).
In response to atheism |
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The body of facts which are held true about us (age/height/position etc)
World-directed - describing world external to individual
Existence is thus world directed too
To transcend this is to be free - envisage other possibilities, affirm a particular course of action, adopt a new worldview/value system
Will not -/-> Cannot |
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The ability to transcend our facticity
Person locked up in chains can still decide to resist or accept.
To assign values/meaning
Nature of things is defined by us - a crag can be an obstacle, or a test, or a vantage point...
A tired hiker - tiredness is not the obstacle, interpretation of tiredness is.
OBJECTION: Gary Cox - overemphasising role of freedom/consciousness in life - jokes: cannot choose to be amused |
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| Anguish/anxiety/angst is... |
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Definition
The perception of our freedom
Like vertigo
Not comforting |
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Definition
Absence of God leads to no intrinsic value or moral order. Moral values are subjective.
Cannot be divorced from epistemology/metaphysics - all concepts involve value judgement (e.g. utility in 'pencils')
Holds idea of 'moral rules' in suspicion - hide the fact that we are free.
Appeal to moral rules is useless unless one has already chosen a moral scheme (student anecdote). However, this choice cannot be guided. No guiding principals = wholly irrational.
THIS CHOICE IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE DESPITE THIS
We create our life as a work of art to hold up to all humanity - although expressly claims that he does not hold an aesthetic view of morality |
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Acting as though we don't have a choice, when we do
To fail to acknowledge our freedom (I can only do this/overidentifying with a role - waiter/taking advice)
To fail to acknowledge one's facticity, even if acknowledging one's freedom (I can do whatever I want/deny responsibility for past actions - the coward/to wish to be judged based on what 'might have been').
Taking responsibility for facticity/patterns of behaviour which have defined us up until now allows us to transcend it.
'Sincerity'
Disowning a part of the self - the woman |
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Term
| Existentialism and marxism |
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Definition
Marxist alienation: proletariat is oppressed by being denied control of the means of production/products produced (alienated labour)
Criticism of existentialism: the proletariat have no real control over their lives (a bourgeois philosophy)
Angst: the proletariat could (try to?) overthrow the bourgeois if they chose to. They do not out of bad faith. |
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Becoming
abandonment
anguish
despair |
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| We are constantly redefining ourselves. |
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| Has an excuse for every past action of cowardice. However, he is a coward because of his cowardice, regardless of what he claims 'caused' them. |
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To acknowledge transcendence
To acknowledge/take responsibility for consequences of facticity |
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| Thinking that one has a fixed essence according to which one must live |
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| On a date, man puts his hand on hers. She considers whether to remove it. During this process of consideration, she objectifies her hand - it is no longer part of her. Denying the body (facticity) |
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a-historical: Is there really such a thing as the individual distinct from there cultural context?
elitist - only relatively few individuals have the social and economic power to truly 'transcend' their situation (Marxist) RESPONSE: they can still choose their interpretation
Free will is an illusion
Is it politically practical?
is it ethical? - the absurd/nihilism/relativism
Is authenticity truly possible? Religious existentialism - leap of faith (Kierkegaard). What role does consciousness really play in thought?
What is a good deed?
Leads to Nihilism |
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