Existentialism: Great Depression And World War II

Existentialism

Selena Xu

All about Existentialism:

•Existentialism is a profound philosophy emerged during the sense of despair from the Great Depression and World War II.

•It continued to gain popularity during the 20th century, as people explores human existence and meaning in life.

•Existentialist strongly believes:

•Individualism, as people are responsible for oneself without the necessary intervention of rules, traditions and laws.

•Life is never optimally satisfying, but it remains meaningful

•Individuals are the determining factor of their own life, through their sense of responsibility, free will and choice.

•Individuals lack power and control over their own life, resulting in pain and suffering. However one’s

What is my true nature and identity? Do we seek to gain personal happiness in life? Are the questions proposed by existentialism. The dictionary definition of existentialism is “human attempt to find meaning of life and oneself through free choice, will and responsibilities.” The philosophy of existentialism began in the 19th century during the sense of despair from the Great Depression and World War II. After the World War and the Great Depression, the enthusiastic spirit has diminished, as more and more people detach themselves from traditional system of beliefs and morals. The effects of the war resulted in new intellects to explore Nietzsche's and Kierkegaard’s existentialism, whom were religious philosophers during the 19th century. One of the famous quote from Kierkegaard states that With this, one can clearly see the idea of existentialism or individualism being expressed. Another leading philosopher of existentialism is Jean-paul Sartre, in which he states that In this quote, Sartre states that human are born into the world to think and questions human nature and meaning of life, while those seemly insignificant thoughts in turn can inspire an individual to act and behave according to their ideologies and perception. To existentialists, existentialism is closely associated with commitment, absurdity, boredom, nothingness, freedom, alienation and dread. In which individuals are searching to find out the meaning behind their life as they make choice based on their beliefs and experiences. In addition, no individual should be forced to act based on the standard of tradition, law, or ethics. Hamlet is a good example of an existentialist, as he tries to define his existence as an individual. Hamlet alludes to the existential creation of human nature and oneself as he states thatMoreover, In the soliloquy, he is quintessentially existential, as he think about the meaning behind one’s existence. In the play, one can see that human life is not