Sartres Existentialism Essay Research Paper The word

Sartre`s Existentialism Essay, Research Paper

The word philosophy comes from Greek and literally means "love of

wisdom." The Merriam- Webster dictionary defines philosophy as "a

critical study of fundamental beliefs and the grounds for them." Because of

the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, the term is

impossible to define precisely. However, existentialism is a philosophical

movement of the 19th and 20th century that centers on the analysis of individual

existence and the given situation of the individual who must assume complete

responsibility for his acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what

is right or wrong or good or bad. Existentialism was started in the late 19th

century by philosophers who called themselves existentialists. These

existentialists, such as Pascal, Kierekegaard, and Heidegger, gave

existentialism its foundation. Jean-Paul Sartre first gave the term

existentialism general currency by using it for his own philosophy. He also

became the leading figure of the existentialist movement in France that became

internationally influential after World War II. Sartre insisted that his

existentialism is a form of Humanism, and he strongly emphasized human freedom,

choice, and responsibility. Sartre was born in 1905 in Paris and died in 1980.

He expressed his dedication to his philosophy in both what he wrote and in the

way he lived his life. During the 1930s he began to develop his existentialist

philosophy. In 1938 he published his first major work, the novel .Nausea’,

which set forth his existentialist ideas. He was very active politically and

founded a monthly magazine which dealt with politics, philosophy, and art. He

wrote well-known plays and won the Nobel prize for literature. Existentialism is

a philosophy which deals with man; it states that man is that which he makes of

himself, that he has to make his own choices in a state of anguish. Man chooses

in anguish, because he has no external guidelines to help him and must rely on

his own morals and beliefs. Choice is a very large theme in the philosophy of

existentialism. One chooses completely want he wants to do; one’s existence

depends on this. Sartre even says that "man is freedom." Sartre and

the modern existentialists contrast their position on morality to that of the

secular moralists of the end of the 18th century. They said that although there

is no God, that there are moral values that one should take seriously, such as

not lying, not beating one’s wife, bringing up children properly, and so forth.

The existentialist finds it extremely troubling that God does not exist because

"with Him disappear all possibility of finding values in an intelligible

heaven." As Dostoevsky once said, "If God did not exist, then

everything would be permitted." Sartre says that this is the existentialist

starting point. This is the reason that Sartre speaks of anguish, because

"one cannot find anything to depend upon either within or outside

himself." It must necessarily follow that man is to be forlorn; he can’t

find anything to depend upon either internally or externally. He therefore lacks

excuses. We cannot explain our actions in terms of or in reference

to…"given and specific human nature." This rules out of the

possibility of predetermination — …"man is free, man is freedom."

For non-existentialists, passion and fate may be an excuse for their actions;

whereas for existentialists, responsibility for one’s passion is a central

belief. Fate is overruled, there is no power of passion. An existentialist will

never regard a great passion…"as a destructive torrent, upon which a man

is swept into certain actions as by fate." Since existence precedes

essence, an existentialist will also deny the aid of a spiritual compass. As a

result there is an absence of an enlightened domain of values. The

existentialist world is by nature, one of being forsaken and abandoned. In this

sense, abandonment can mean that we ourselves decide our being. Part and parcel

with abandonment comes anguish. As an example of abandonment, one may consider

the case of the Frenchman who was considered a collaborator and his eldest son,

who were both killed in the German offense of 1940. The young man’s younger

brother had two choices: to take care of his mother (a concrete mode of action,

immediate, but directed to only one individual), or to go to England to join the

free French forces (an action addressed to an infinitely greater end). The

Kantian ethic warns not to regard another person as a means, but rather as an

end. In this case, for the young son to remain with his mother, he would be

treating her as the end and the French fighters as the means. On the other hand,

if he were to aid the free French, he would be treating them

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать