Transcript The Existentialists Big Ideas      We search for the meaning of our existence and the meaning of our death and suffering Reality is a.

The Existentialists
Big Ideas
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We search for the meaning of our existence and
the meaning of our death and suffering
Reality is a lived experience
We need to confront alienation and anxiety and
the absurdity of life with courage
We should live a moral life because even though
I determine my own essence, I share a common
human condition
Nothing defines you but you
Existence precedes essence
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Traditional philosophy suggests essence precedes
existence.
We imagine a hammer and then make one.
From a religious perspective God had an idea of
human beings and then created them (essence then
existence)
Satre turned this up side down
We come into being, we exist and then through life we
develop our essence by questioning and living
I become “human” by becoming conscious.
Anxiety and Angst
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Despair, Anxiety and Angst (fear and
dread) can enhance our understanding of
ourselves
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Happiness alone will not lead to a deep
understanding of existence
Absurdity
Why am I here and is there purpose to life?
 Am I simply a small speck in the universe in a
world that has no meaning?
 Kierkegaard asks: I stick my finger into
existence, it smells of nothing.
 Questions everywhere: Where am I? what is
this thing called the world? Who is it who has
lured me into the thing and now leaves me
here? Who am I? How did I come into the
world? Why was I not consulted?
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Death
Death is a facet of life and we must
comprehend it to really understand living.
 Living life as if death does not exist is
irresponsibility. Examples?
 Heidegger saw death as our most
authentic moment i.e. you are most alive
as you die
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Alienation
We all experience a feeling of being
separate, lost, confused, out of place, etc.
 Modernity has only added to this problem.
 We are alienated by our own creations;
science, capitalism, politics, religion,
technology, etc.
 We need to confront alienation with dignity.
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