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Grendel & Philosophy. Existentialism. T o understand what it means to be human is more than understanding the scientific and moral laws of humanity.
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Existentialism • To understand what it means to be human is more than understanding the scientific and moral laws of humanity. • It requires understanding the essential “you-ness” of being you, that element that cannot be captured in objective science but must be sought through SUBJECTIVE, PASSIONATE examination (think Fight Club)
“Existence precedes essence” • Jean-Paul Sartre’s motto; this phrase indicates what the author saw as a fundamental issue: • We cannot say what it means to be human, because we create that meaning by the way we live as humans. • In other words, we do not have a “standard” existence, but one that varies wildly according to the conditions affecting it.
Sartre believed: • We are free to choose our paths and are “self-creating” (in that we pick how we behave once we begin to exist), and thus, unlike objects, we are responsible for our own actions and choices. • “I think, therefore I am.”
Problem is… • Since we are responsible for our choices as individuals, we also must recognize that our individual choices have global impact – the choices each of us make affect everyone else, and therefore we are each responsible both for ourselves and for all of humanity. • Since I am responsible for both myself and the rest of the world, and since I have no one to turn to for help or instructions (since there is no divine force giving us moral or physical guidance in this paradigm), I am doomed to live in despair.
What is Solipsism? • Solipsism is the view that “I am the only mind which exists,” or “My mental states are the only states.” Specifically, solipsists believe the following: • Existence is everything I experience • Cannot attach meaning to the thoughts, experiences, and emotions of anyone outside myself. • Egocentrism: I and only I am at the center of my world. • Ex. you are all playing a part in the movie of “my” life.
Nihilism • Nihilism is the viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless • Nothing can be known or communicatedbecause of varying perspectives. • Therefore life is meaningless • Sometimes referred to as “fatalist”
