Existentialism
In our individual routines, each and every one of us strive to be the best that we are capable of being. How peculiar this is; we aim for similar goals, yet the methods we enact are unique. Just as no two people have the same fingerprint, no two have identical theories on how to live life. While some follow religious outlines to aspire to a level of moral excellence, others pursue different approaches. Toward the end of the Nineteenth-Century and on through the mid-Twentieth, a movement followed "existentialism," a philosophical theory of life, in order to achieve such a level. Even though the idea of existentialism is complex, certain themes are common amongst philosophers and authors: moral individualism, freedom of choice, responsibility, alienation.
Fundamental to understanding existentialism is the conception of moral individualism. Existentialism rejects traditional ethical endeavors.
Philosophers since the time of Aristotle, circa Third-Century B.C.E. (before the common era), have held that everyone should aim for a common peak of ethical achievement. Aristotle argued for the existence of a divine being, described as the "Prime Mover," who is responsible for the unity and purposefulness of nature.
In order for humanity to attain such a climax, everyone must imitate The
Almighty's perfect profile. Aristotle's basic philosophy deduces that humanity strives for an identical peak of moral excellence, as judged by a higher being
(Aristotle).
Existentialism declares that the individual must choose his way; there is no predetermination. Since the universe is meaningless and absurd, people must set their own ethical standards. The universe does not predetermine moral rules. Each person strives toward a unique moral perfection. The Nineteenth-
Century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was the first writer to call himself e)existential, reacted against tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his uniqueness. His journal reads, 'I must find a truth that is true for me ... the idea for which I can live or die"
(Existentialism). Existentialists believe that morality depends on the individual, rather than a supreme being.
Next to moral individualism, the inevitability of choice is the most prominent existentialist theory. Existentialism assert that people do not have a fixed nature, as other animals and plants do. Our choices determine who we are. The Twentieth-Century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre proclaimed that the most Important choice is the choice of ourselves. Each character makes choices that create his nature. Existence suggests freedom where mankind is open to a future that is determined by choice and action. Choice is inescapable and central to human existence; the refusal to choose is a choice. Even when a
choose, the freedom to choose. We also have to take the responsibility of our choices. We
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, playwright William Shakespeare creates in Bottom, Oberon, and Puck unique characters that represent different aspects of him. Like Bottom, Shakespeare aspires to rise socially; Bottom has high aims and, however slightly, interacts with a queen. Through Bottom, Shakespeare mocks these pretensions within himself. Shakespeare also resembles King Oberon, controlling the magic we see on the stage. Unseen, he and Oberon pull the strings that control what the characters act and say. Finally, Shakespeare is like Puck, standing back from the other characters, acutely aware of their weaknesses and mocks them, relishing in mischief at their expense. With these three characters and some play-within-a-play enchantment, Shakespeare mocks himself and his plays as much as he does the young lovers and the mechanicals onstage. This genius playwright who is capable of writing serious dramas such as Hamlet and Julius Caesar is still able to laugh at himself just as he does at his characters. With the help of Bottom, Oberon, and Puck, Shakespeare shows us that theatre, and even life itself, are illusions that one should remember to laugh at.
+The existential position toward Susan Orlean’s essay “Saturday Night” is one that rejects the dehumanizing state of “Saturdayness” and man being defined solely as the hedonistic Being-for-St. Elsewhere (Man as Future-State Man). Her guidelines for Saturday night directly contrast the existentialist ideals of freedom, the individual, and living in the present, and the philosopher Jean-Paul Satre surely would agree. *Even Orlean herself admits “chronological time is a sort of an anachronism these days”: the “Fun Imperative” has been replaced by the “Fear Imperative” (AIDS); and the living-for-the-future syndrome is a Satrian act of “bad faith” and must be acknowledged as such.
They entered a war amongst each other because lower class was challenging the government, which concluded to many people fleeing France to go to Britain and Austria. The king of France, Louis XVI, was charged with treason and guillotined, causing the Reign of Terror, which took place when Maximilien de Robespierre tried to kill over 17000 men and women. As the country of France was declining in government and economy General Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor and fifteen years after the French Revolution, France was ruled under a dictatorship (“French Revolution”). The French Revolution was inspired by the Enlightenment and Declaration of Independence because just as the Americans, the French had been fighting for freedom from the monarchy for not supporting the country of France during a period of debt. The Revolution was based from the ideas of both the Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence derived from John Locke’s ideals of government. This includes how the people should have a representative in the government and if they are unhappy with the government, they are able to break away to start a new one. In the end, the French had lost the Revolution by having a democratic government, which later transcended into a dictatorship (“Enlightenment
of rules, a different set of standards and a different set of goals. The objective of attaining
we set the principles in which we live by and how we view ourselves as a person. We
Depending on one’s viewpoint, fantasy and reality can be uncovered in different ways in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”. Bottom is first seen unifying reality and fantasy by being the one who holds the “Mechanical Play” together within the play as a whole. Bottom is selected for the lead role of the play because of his rather flattering attributes that best are fitting to the role of Pyramus, which according to
The four-letter type and temperament traits are measured by the Myers Briggs Personality Assessment. The assessment is a list of questions that is rated to determine your personality traits. This paper will discuss the validity of my four-letter type and temperament traits according to the Myers Briggs Personality Assessment. I will discuss each letter of my personality type and how they work together. There are different weaknesses that exist with each personality trait. We can use our personality traits to improve our overall performance on a day to day basis, as well as within our work life. The terminology used to describe each type and temperament is very broad and vague, resulting in a greater chance for people to conform and believe
Typically, I enjoy situations with less people and become extremely uncomfortable in large crowds. This contributed to the decision of applying to private universities rather than public universities. Regarding intuition, I feel that I base things off of certain feelings rather than the senses before evaluating a situation; however, I do not believe this function dominates over sensing as much as my results would suggest. When it comes to rational function, I definitely use more emotional rationale, and I understand why the feeling function was higher than the thinking function. Finally, I structure my life to the point where it is obsessive, and I have trouble dealing with spontaneity, which explains the major difference between judging and
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 ...
Ultimately, a human’s personality is much more detailed than a few adjectives. Additionally, one’s profession should never be based on what a quiz suggests, as there are numerous attributes that a test cannot point out. Consider if you will that although the test did not reveal that I hold a strength of feeling, when it comes to children, my heart is touched and more inclined to offer an emotional response. Thus, in my opinion, if tests such as these were used to determine what job one should hold, more individual would remain jobless, be it due to the denial of a position or from a lack of interest for positions that appear to be fitting according to test results. This being said, if this determined career eligibility, the world would be even more chaotic than it is currently, with much more dissatisfaction within the workplace. Ultimately, I know in my case, I would not be as pleased and driven to accomplish my goals if I were under the impression that my personality results could cause me denial of the career I am
This weekend, I decided to amuse myself and take the Myers-Briggs personality test. Rooted in Jungian psychological theory and developed by Isabel Briggs Myers, the exam seeks to find consistency and order in seemingly random human human behavior through a four part personality dichotomy. These dichotomies stem from the fundamental differences in how individuals perceive and interact the world around them as well as their “inner self,” thus corresponding to variations in passions, values, ideologies, inspirational sources, and skills. The first division relates to our attitudes towards the inner and outer world as well as the source of their energy, with the two options being extraverted (outgoing, outspoken) or introverted (appreciates solitude,
Different facets of organizational behavior were addressed in the three articles reviewed for this project. Pay Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intent by Parbudyal Singh and Natasha Loncar examines the relationship between employee position and salary satisfaction and job turnover. The 4 Rs of Motivation by Michael Maccoby suggests a formula from which leaders should pull to motivate subordinates, and Relations Between Leader-Subordinate Personality Similarity and Job Attitudes by Lior Oren, Aharon Tziner, Gil Sharoni, Iafit Amor, and Pini Alon examines the effect the relationship between leaders and subordinates has upon job satisfaction.
There are many different techniques and approaches to group counseling. The approach that I found to be the most interesting is the existential approach. “The existential perspective holds that we define ourselves by our choices” (Corey & Corey, 2014, p.114). This approach can be successful in therapy because it allows one to oversee one’s future. In this paper, I’m going to generally discuss the existential approach to therapy and where it can be used.
Through the use of a concise plot, symbolism, descriptive setting, point of view, and dramatic irony, readers are left with a strong feeling of empathy for the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard. Through each paragraph of the story, readers continue to feel empathetic for the woman who grieves the loss of her husband, gains a new feeling of freedom outside of the restrictions of marriage, then loses that freedom when she discovers that her husband is not dead, all within an hour’s time. While women’s independence and freedom within marriage could still be a topic reflected in today’s literature, it would be a much different story than that of Chopin’s time. At the time this story was written, women were expected to do whatever it took to please and cater to their husbands. This story seems to draw from the changes of that time as women were beginning to gain more independence in their lives as in the suffrage movement, marriage, and employment outside the home. Much has changed in women’s rights since the end of the nineteenth century, which is a result of the work of women like Kate