Existentialism is a 20th century philosophical belief that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It was first brought to public attention, through Jean Paul Sartre’s book L’existentalisme est un humanisme in the mid 1940’s. The philosophy allows humans to define what the true meaning of life is, to make their own rational decisions despite living in an irrational world. It deals with the absurdity of life and emphasizes action, freedom and decision as a fundamental. And the only way to rise above the essentially absurd condition of humanity (which is typically categorized as suffering and death) is by exercising personal freedom and choice. The philosophy of Existentialism and the Absurd is presented through the literary works …show more content…
It is said, that humans only have three options in life: to commit suicide, chose to believe in a divine power or to accept the absurd and create one’s own meaning to life. This is portrayed through the three primary characters of the Lord of the Flies. For instance, Jack is the metaphorical representation of the individual who commits suicide. He is overwhelmed by the current situation, and succumbs to his primitive senses. This is representative of suicide as Jack lost everything that he valued and is now merely a shadow of his past. While Piggy is illustrative of the individual who believes in a divine power. Piggy believe that they would be rescued by the adults until his death. Though Ralph originally believed that he to would be rescued, he did not let his faith guide him and decided that in order for the boys to survive they would have to work. He established a government and assigned tasks to every single child. While Piggy put his entire faith into being rescued and was not productive during the rescue effort. Similarly, in The Plague, Cottard represent the character who succumbs to the absurdity. During the plague, he used peoples’ hopelessness and naivety to smuggle them out of the city which though ethically wrong left him satisfied. But after the plague epidemic was declared over he became belligerent and insane which drove him to shoot …show more content…
To continue, William Golding and Albert Camus’s past experiences during WWII influenced their analysis of the human condition. They believed that humans were capable of reverting to their primitive ways if they are given a chance and that there is a minimal amount of the population who will retain their moralistic standards. And both their ideas are supported by the philosophy of existentialism and the absurd. Though, there was morals in the society this was engulfed by those who had reverted to their primitive ways. To conclude, both Golding and Camus represented existentialism by portraying that all our actions are irrelevant in this irrational world because this only brings calamity to rest of
The basic premise of Lord of the Flies is that humans naturally live in savagery and ignorance, without any idea of how to live together. The most terrifying death in the novel is that of Simon, who symbolizes the eyes of a blind and stumbling group of children digressing into savagery. As Christ lived, so lived Simon, as Christ died, so died Simon. Each died because human nature hates prophets, because humans naturally live in savagery and ignorance.
In his lecture, Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre discusses common misconceptions people, specifically Communists and Christians, have about existentialism and extentanitalists (18). He wants to explain why these misconceptions are wrong and defend existentialism for what he believes it is. Sartre argues people are free to create themselves through their decisions and actions. This idea is illustrated in the movie 13 Going on Thirty, where one characters’ decision at her thirteenth birthday party and her actions afterwards make her become awful person by the time she turns thirty. She was free to make these decisions but she was also alone. Often the idea of having complete free will at first sounds refreshing, but when people
Many Christians rejected the philosophy of existentialism on the grounds that it denies “the reality and seriousness of human affairs” and that man will “be incapable… of condemning either the point of view or the action of anyone else.” (Sartre 1). Sartre denies this claim later in Existentialism is a Humanism by rejecting the misconception that an existentialist holds no conviction. Rather, he states, existentialists have the most conviction of anyone, because in “choosing for himself he chooses for all men.” (Sartre 4) Sartre claims this to be the “deeper meaning of existentialism.” It is the subjectivity of what is good or evil, the essence that man decides for himself, that has an impact on everyone else; within this subjectivity lies the responsibility for bettering mankind, a responsibility few men would choose to ignore.
When French Noble Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher, Albert Camus, died in 1960 at the age of 46 his literary works that incorporated ideas of existentialism and absurdism were still studied and interpreted by scholars and his colleagues. Existentialism was one of the two philosophies Camus believed in and used in his works; existentialism is philosophical movement that focuses on the importance of the individual experience and self responsibility. The individual is seen as a free part of a deterministic and meaningless universe. The second philosophy Camus used and believed in was absurdism; a philosophy based on the idea that life and work are meaningless and looking for order causes inner and outer chaos. Camus had a dual culture as he was born in Algeria and lived most of his life in France, his cultural duality also is expressed in his works.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will. To Sartre, saying that som...
Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were key figures in the philosophy of existentialism. Existentialism is defined as the philosophical theory that highlights individual existence, choice, and freedom. It is the idea that human beings determine their own meaning in life, and venture to make rational decisions in spite of living in an illogical and unreasonable universe. Essentially, this principle calls into question human existence and the notion that individuals do not have a purpose in life. Like her lover Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir had a lot to say about existential conditions and the ethical dilemmas that we are faced with as we journey from life to death.
The Merriam – Webster Dictionary defines existentialism as a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our natures are the natures we make for ourselves, the meaning of our existence is that we just exist and there may or may not be a meaning for the existence, and we have to individually decide what is right or wrong and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer any of those things for us. A good example of existentialism is Woody Allen’s movie, Deconstructing Harry. A man is haunted by his past and his past has followed him into the present. He is a wreck not because of the things that happened to him, but because of the choices he made. He is consumed by regret and insecurity and he tries to find blame in his situation with someone other than himself, however he cannot (Barnes, 2011). Throughout the rest of this paper I will be discussing two of the most prominent existentialists, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.
John Paul Sartre is known as one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. He wrote many philosophical works novels and plays. Much of his work is tied into politics. The essay Existentialism is a Humanism is just one of his many works. Existentialism is a Humanism is a political essay that was written in 1945. Its purpose was to address a small public during World War II in Nazi occupied France. This essay stressed the public not to conform. Sartre introduced a great number of philosophical concepts in Existentialism. Two of these concepts are anguish and forlornness. They are simply defined, as anguish is feeling responsible for yourself as well as others and knowing that your actions affect others and forlornness is realizing that you are alone in your decisions. These two concepts are interwoven throughout the essay and throughout many of Sartre's other works. Sartre's view of anguish and forlornness in Existentialism is a Humanism addresses his view of life and man.
Existentialism is a term that was coined specifically by Jean-Paul Sartre in regards to his own life. Sartre had adopted the Atheistic approach to life and its meaning, and while he was not the first or only one to do so, was the first and only one to come up with a way to describe it. Under Existentialism, man lives without higher power or guidance and must rely solely on himself and what he is aiming to do in order to lead a fulfilling life. This can be anything. Critics of Sartre propose that, because such a vast array of options exists within the meaningfulness of life, this philosophy is obsolete and trivial in nature. This is not true, as it is seen in everyday examples – celebrities, namely – that a thirst
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism Is a Humanism = (L'Existentialisme Est Un Humanisme) ; Including, a Commentary on The Stranger (Explication De L'Étranger). Ed. John Kulka. New Haven: Yale UP, 2007. Print.
In the book, the Lord of the flies, boys were stranded by themselves on an island. This left no boundaries from the real world. The main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack were the ones that were most affected by this lack of limits, but dealt with them in many different ways. Ultimately, in the book The Lord of The Flies, Ralph Piggy and Jack all show differences we can learn from in the areas of Leadership, Responsibility, and authority. We can learn from the ways they handled these three themes and apply them to our own lives as Christians to serve God more prosperly.
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing
Sartre, Jean Paul. "Existentialism." The Course of Ideas. Second Edition. Jeanne Gunner and Ed Frankel Washington: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. 451-455.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing