Another secular worldview that is common today is Existentialism. The history of existentialism comes from two key thinkers.
The first was, Soren Kierkegaard, who stressed the power of the individual and put the pressure on humans to create their own moral code and decide their own destiny. Though he believed in God he encouraged others to look inside themselves for their meaning and purpose in life. “Finding meaning meant living. If you’re living, you’re finding meaning. If you’re finding meaning, you’re living.”
The second was, Freidrich Nietzsche who took Kierkegaard’s ideas to the extreme level. He came to the conclusion that meaning and purpose could never be found outside of the person, which means he completely removed God from their lives. You may be familiar with the statement that Nietzsche made, “God is dead.” His belief in the death of God along with his philosophical background led him to teach that humans are left here to discover morals and a purpose without the help or support of any deity.
Basic Beliefs of the Existentialist:
- They believe in choice over destiny.
- Experience over reason.
-They emphasize the individual.
-They criticize today’s society and the goals of individuals (to have a comfortable existence) because they are merely part of the “herd.”
-They emphasize human freedom and choice.
-They don’t think that human existence can be fully explained by reason or objectivity and so an account of human existence must include passion, emotion, and the subjective.
- They focus on death and its role in human life.
-They emphasize anxiety (about death, meaning, and guilt) and its role in human life.
-They emphasize the dynamic and incomplete instead of the static and
complete.
What is it’s main attraction?
Explaining the purpose of humanity. Understanding the existence of mankind.
The Atheist Existentialists believe that there is no God at all and this is the largest group. But there are some Religious Existentialists who believe in a God but still believe that they have free will to make their own decisions.
It differs from Christianity in that we believe that God does guide us in our decisions and we are not all on our own. As humans our decisions do not give us significance it is God who does that. If we can only find the meaning of life in ourselves then most often we will conclude that life has no meaning, such is the conclusion and position of most (not all) existentialists.
Did you know that Forrest Gump is basically a guy whose life is decided by chance, and the events have no long-term purpose. Eric Roth, the screenwriter for the movie, claimed that his intention was for the movie to discuss existential ideas.
As we continue to look at different worldviews and religions be sure to try and identify these views in our pop culture today, such as in movies, music, and even other people.
Pressed
Research and some Information came from: “Why so many God’s” by K. Etue.
COMMENTS
Monty Python always made fun of Nietzsche. Hehe… Monty Python is funny and so is the name Nietzsche. Doesn’t look like [Nee chee]. Glad God didn’t pronounce man dead like man has pronounced God dead.
Posted by: Christopher on September 5, 2002 10:07 PM
Sartre, taking some ideas from Heidegger, was the former of the ideas of Existensialism. Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are the pre-Existensialists who set up the philosophical world that Sartre et al developed.
K. and N. were Modernists and Nihilists but they were not Existentialists.
Read Heidegger’s Being and Time or Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. They are the main works in the field one should read to grasp the ideas and the issues of Existensialism
Posted by: Daniel Silliman on September 6, 2002 06:58 PM
howdy pbnc,
couple points. first, kierkegaard was not an existentialist as someone has already noted. but he wasn’t a nihilist either. matter of fact, he dispised nihilism.
secondly, the man was a Christian. his ideas were useful to later atheists who would flesh out the existentialist ethos, but he himself was a believer. he had complex religious beliefs and a lot of guilt, and he frequently clashed with the church. he saw himself as a reformer, however, not a usurper or, like nietzsche, a destroyer.
and about nietzsche–he didn’t really believe God was dead. he didn’t believe in any God or gods at all, rather, he believed spirituality was an invention of frightened man, who was unable to cope with his own lack of power–particularly over nature. science filled this void, and hence religion was no longer neccessary. when he said “God is dead” what he meant was that science had replaced spirituality and mysticism and a shared religious experience had been replaced by enlightenment.
locdog
Posted by: locdog on September 7, 2002 10:26 AM
By saying that “the history of existentialism comes from two key thinkers” I meant that their thinking led to what is called existentialism today not necessarily that they were “existentialists” themselves.
I am glad that you have commented and continue to help everyone to understand exestentialism and these two key thinkers in more depth. I am limited on how much time I can put into these things so it is hard for me to go into detail on every single point, besides it would make the entry a mile long. So that is where people like you come in, thank you very much for your comments.
Posted by: Pressed on September 7, 2002 10:41 AM
existentialism, in theory, is a wonderful thing for the mind to wander in.
in practice, incorporated into everday life and ones decisions, it is absurd and childish.
people who use nietzsche and kierkegaard to justify selfish pleasures are doing in fact the opposite of what both these brilliant writers intended.
just because you are smart does not mean you are god. hopefully this world will come to recognize that we need to punish those who think they can do whatever they want because “i think it is the right thing for me”. well, we think its better that we, the herd, kick your for that.
Posted by: gtmachi on November 25, 2002 11:20 PM
Actually, most existentialists are not generally atheist. Sartre was. And you have to remember that they were LABELLED existentialists for writing outside the norm. They were amused and took the time to give it a definition on their terms rather than let it become a nasty word with no meaning.
You should really expand your source material before talking about something because when you use only one source to proclaim that existentialism is counterproductive it really makes you seem uninformed.
Posted by: vb on December 12, 2002 12:48 AM
Simply said that we live in an existential world. There are both secular and christian views. If any has anything to say about such things yes the headlining philosophers are important to read, but another more modern man is just as important. The name Francis Schaeffer should ring a bell whenever anyone talks about existential theologies whether past or present. If you haven’t read this title, “The GOD who is There”, you should and you need to. That is if you really care about existential things. My own thoughts are as this. We live in a real world existing with both supernatarul powers(whether diety or nature) and humans “mannishness”. As humans we have something in us. Ever told yourself you were stupid for doing something you later thought you shouldn’t have? Ever done something you wish you hadn’t? Of course! There is something iinside all of mankind that drives them, whatever their concept of truth might be. We are all looking for answers outside of mere life experience(gaining knowledge through a number of years breathing). I am not afraid to say that I believe in what I believe, evver meet me on a street and I would not only listen to you but hope you might do the same for me. Keep searching all!
Posted by: Dave LLoyd on April 27, 2003 12:45 PM
