Existentialism Relationships In A World Without God

Existentialism: Relationships In A World Without God Essay, Research Paper

Relationships in a World without God

In a world in which lives are shaped by irreversible choices and by random events, a world in which everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose is substance. Life in this designless universe raises questions of identity and can cause turmoil between the relationships of the self to others, the self to history, and the self to God. Through the words of existentialist novelists and philosophers Milan Kundera and Jean-Paul Sartre, we witness the philosophical and psychological struggles for identity, existence, and ‘being’ of the characters in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Nausea. In connection with other philosophic writings of Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Tillich and Sartre the ideas of existentialism expressed in these two novels become more apparent, and the relationships of the characters in this world-without-God can be explored.

Our principle readings rested in the argument of man’s existence and being. Sartre’s Nausea and Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being both depicted the stories of humans struggling to accept their own realities in a state of what Heidegger referred to as “thrown-ness”. Heidegger’s existential thoughts are concerned with the question of the meaning of Being. Heidegger based his philosophy upon the science of existence. The scientific method was that of phenomenological reduction. Although S.ren Kierkegaard accepted the paradox of being defining itself, as a scientist, Heidegger could not accept this paradox. According to Heidegger, a concept must be defined without using itself as reference. The difficulty of definition was confronted by defining Being as a collection of concepts. In his essay “The Fundamental Question of Metaphysics” the central question he asks is “Why is there anything at all, rather than nothing.” This question leads us to yearn for the explanations of reality, of the universe and of our being here. According to Heidegger, wondering about this basic ontological question opens oneself up to the presence of Being. As stated by Heidegger’s writings, human being, as opposed to human beings, is comprised of four components: concern, being-toward-death, existence, and moods. Dasein is the act of “being there” in essence. Without being something, there is no existence. Concern is the ability to care about the self, in relation to phenomena. Being-toward-death represents the finite nature of life. This belief that death defines life complements S.ren Kierkegaard ’s thought that God does not exist, but is real. Existence represents knowing one is and is changing. Moods are reactions to other beings, further allowing one to define the self.

Dasein requires choices and resulting actions to define the self. These choices allow for an almost unlimited combination of the components of Being. Each choice represents a pivotal point in the individual’s life — every choice, even the seemingly minor ones, contribute to the larger definition of self. Choices occur in relation to a timeline, universal and personal. These points in time became the topic of Heidegger’s Being and Time.

Heidegger, as with Kierkegaard and Sartre, believed the existence of a physical body preceded the essence of self. At some point in the development process, a being becomes aware that it exists. This pivotal point in time is when essence begins to form; the individual decides to acknowledge and embrace an essence at this moment. Because man in the only known being in which essence and existence do not appear simultaneously, man is a unique creature on this planet. All things man creates have essence, or definition, before they exist. In other words, an individual thinks about a creation and its purpose before the creation exists.

Kierkegaard’s existentialism follows a progression from existence to a pursuit of pleasure, to a pursuit of society, and a pursuit of spirituality. Basically, the existence precedes the awareness of self and the essence of self. Sartre embraced this concept of existence in his writings. By concentrating on the individual, Kierkegaard was laying the foundation for future existentialists. The individual was everything to Kierkegaard. He hoped to elevate the individual to a new philosophical level. The self is a series of possibilities; every decision made redefines the individual. Sartre further developed this concept. The knowledge that “I” defines the “self” results in “the dizziness of freedom” and “fear and trembling.” It is a great responsibility to create a person, yet that is exactly what each human does: creates a self. This self is independent from all other knowledge and “truths” defined by other individuals. Kierkegaard also contended that living is the art of the existentialist, while previous philosophies engaged only in thought. Philosophers were studying concepts, but not the individual behind the concepts — that was limited to the nascent realm of psychology. Kierkegaard did not believe in universal truths, only truth as seen by one individual. Existentialism accepts that truth is subjective. Kierkegaard further stated that the highest form of subjectivity was passion. To think like an Existentialist is to contemplate the self, the Creator, and the universe with passion.

Paul Tillich states strong feelings of Existentialism in the passage “The Meaning of Me