Week 19 — What Is Existentialism?
Kierkegaard to Sartre: Freedom, anxiety, and the weight of existence.
Hello Friends!
This Sunday we are exploring an idea that can feel both as old as time and yet very relatable to today…existentialism.
In contrast to many other ways of understanding humanity, existentialism doesn’t concern itself with whether or not there is meaning in life.
The fundamental idea behind existentialism is far more disconcerting. No one is going to provide meaning to your life.
If meaning exists at all, then you need to create it through your actions, decisions, commitments, etc.
To understand why this is important, we first need to understand how existentialism fundamentally differs from most of the ways we think about humans.
Let’s jump in!
The Problem With Labels
Most of us explain who people are by listing their characteristics:
She’s a teacher.
He’s a dad.
They’re married.
Now let’s imagine somebody like that (we’ll call him Daniel).
Daniel is a husband, a dad, a college graduate, has a medical diagnosis, has some wins and losses in his past.
However, that was just a list of the events that occurred in his life.
Is that who Daniel actually is?
Existentialism makes another inquiry to get to the “who” of Daniel…
Existentialism claims humans aren’t things defined by labels that define them.
Humans are beings who reflect, worry, hope, fear, and ultimately worry about the meaning of life itself.
We don’t simply exist, we experience our existence.
This philosophy emerges from the fact that humans recognize they exist and that they will inevitably die.
Existence Precedes Essence
To truly understand existentialism at its heart, we have to get to the root of this famous saying:
“Existence precedes essence.” —Jean-Paul Sartre
Most people look at the world as having a function prior to being created.
For example, knives are designed to cut, chairs are built to sit on.
For humans, however, Sartre and other philosophers believed that you come first and then decide who you want to be.
There is no predestined plan or divine destiny. No inherent nature (essence) that awaits discovery.
You were not born to be a teacher, a parent, a philosopher...you will become those things through your decisions.
Daniel was not born “Daniel”. He decided to become “Daniel” himself.
His diagnosis (whether something happens to his body or mind) can never define him unless he decides to live as though it does.
Freedom Is Not Comforting
The reason that humans are different than (most) animals (and all other living things) is that they have the highest degree of self-conscious freedom.
This allows them to reflect on themselves and their place in the world and make decisions as to how they will choose to live their lives.
However, there’s a catch. Freedom isn’t comforting, it’s quite scary.
Because you’re not going to be controlled by your genetics, environment, social status, etc., you get to create who you are.
“We are condemned to be free.” —Jean-Paul Sartre
Condemned because we didn’t ask to be free and we can’t avoid being free (according to existentialists).
And even if you don’t choose anything at all, then you’ve still made a choice.
And even if you refuse to take on any kind of responsibility, that too is a decision and thus an act of responsibility.
You always have choices, you’ll never find a way to opt out of making choices when someone else makes those decisions for you.
When Existentialism Wasn’t “Ready”
While Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir are often seen as the face of existentialism; this philosophy has a history much longer and broader than those two figures.
The late 19th-century thinkers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche laid groundwork for a focus on the individual’s subjective experience and their own creation of themselves.
In the early 20th century Martin Heidegger made the important distinction of “being-in-the-world” -- i.e., human existence exists in a relationship to the world around us at all times (not as observers). He significantly influenced existentialism.
In the 20th century Albert Camus identified the “absurd” -- i.e., the contradiction between our search for meaningful relationships to the world and a world which does not provide them.
Literary writers such as Dostoevsky and Kafka have extended these themes throughout literature.
The Human Condition
Emotions such as anxiety, alienation, anguish and despair exist within us, but existentialism provides an interpretation of what these feelings mean in terms of freedom and being responsible for your own actions.
Anxiety is an emotional response to the freedom we have to choose, to act and to create our own future and how we will live through this uncertainty.
Alienation is the emotional experience of feeling disconnected from the values and beliefs handed down by previous generations. Anguish is the emotional burden of understanding that every choice we make defines who we are.
Despair is when we face the fact that there are limits to our ability to shape our lives.
These are part of the human condition, which makes clear to us that we are individuals who have the capacity to interpret, choose and act.
Since the choices we make affect other people’s choices, we are not solely independent agents; our choices can be impacted by others and therefore are related to their freedom.
The most common criticism leveled against existentialism is that it creates a state of moral confusion and thus, Sartre and Beauvoir were criticized for believing that a person living a genuine existence must acknowledge the freedom of other people and treat them with respect.
The freedom we have to choose and act does not occur in a vacuum, but is tied to the freedom of others as well.
For example, Beauvoir said that authentic existence means acknowledging that other people are also free (and not just objects) and acting so as to promote freedom in everyone.
Therefore, the idea of existential freedom is about relating to each other.
Key Takeaways
Your existence precedes your essence: You don’t get to decide who you are prior to existing as an individual; You create who you are based on the decisions you make in life.
Freedom is inevitable: You cannot avoid making choices, even choosing not to choose is a choice.
Authenticity is important: Being genuine and real in life means taking ownership of your life instead of using other people’s labels or role expectations for your own identity.
Anxiety is an element of living: Anxiety is a signal that you are aware of your freedom and your responsibilities as an individual.
While existentialism does recognize that we can’t determine our lives meanings prior to deciding them (with the exception of how we connect with one another), we have the ability to give our lives meaning by making thoughtful choices and not doing so in a vacuum.
Existentialism does not answer the mystery of existence; however it demonstrates to you that the only way to create your own meaning is by taking charge of creating that meaning.
Through making the choices that are important to you, through taking those risks that bring out the best of you, and through living a life that reflects who you truly are.
See you next week,
Nick