This paper is a book review and
a synopsis of, “Existentialism for Dummies,” written by Christopher Panza and
Gregory Gale. It is also a partial essay
on Existentialism. The author strongly recommends
the aforementioned book.
The book is available at Amazon here.
Part One
Introduction and
Summary
The word “Existentialism”
implies something about existence. This
is true. It is about the unique way humans
exist. It also implies another aspect of humans:
non-existence. All humans will
eventually stop existing; this non-existence is another aspect of engaging in
the unique way of human existence.
Some think Existentialism began
with Nietzsche. He is certainly one of
the Fountainheads of the movement.
Others include Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Soren
Kierkegaard, among others.
Existentialism has many common
themes often misunderstood by dilettantes.
“God is dead” is perhaps the most provocative theme, although, if taken
literally, this statement is mistaken.
Absurdity is another theme as the writers deal with the infinite
capacity of people to make sense of the world, with spectacular failure. Authenticity and freedom, along with avoiding
being swept away in the notions of the crowd, are some of the other
themes.
The philosophy encourages us to
take a closer look at what it means to live in modernity without the guides to
life that former generations had. We are
thrown into this volatile age, and then we have to deal with it with passion,
meaning, and authenticity.
“God is dead,” and
what this really means (It's not to be taken at face value)
We hear about the Existentialists
phrase, “God is dead.” However this is
not meant literally in many cases, because there are Christian
Existentialists. This is also not a
cause for celebration; those who read or hear the phrase may take the meaning
the wrong way. This is rather an
observation about the state of things.
This is reality as we experience it in this age. More precisely, universal systems of thought
are no longer functional or useful to humans.
The time when there was a broad consensus on the systems of religion,
philosophy and thought is gone. Society
is fragmented on these systems. Contrary
to some, the God of reason is no substitute for the church, because men are
inherently irrational, even when one claims reason as his primary tool of
living. Science is sometimes seen as a
replacement for religion. However,
science does not deal with questions of value; it only deals with questions of
physical fact. Science cannot attach
meaning to life, nor can it issue any useful guides to living one’s life.
In losing universal systems of
thought, such as religion, reason, or science, we must depend upon ourselves to
determine what we will use as a replacement.
We are virtually free to choose any system of thought we wish. We can determine our values and choose a system
in congruence with those values. Also,
we are thrown into a world with no value system, and, thus, we are without
compass. We are no longer broadly
instructed on the correct systems of thought.
Whatever we choose could turn out successfully, or it could turn out to
be a serious mistake.
Moods in an empty
world
One way to determine how we
interact with the world is through our moods.
Our moods reveal to us how we are engaging with the world at a
particular moment, and also in general. As
we strive and thrust our way into the world, we experience anxiety. We do not know if our decisions will be successful
or not. We can choose something at one
point, and the consequences may not be what we expect. We also face tough decisions in life, and
these moments induce dread often because any choice has consequences that we
would rather not deal with. Angst is
another mood flavor accompanying the general feeling that we do not have an
overarching compass given to us at birth with which we can navigate our
lives. The idea that we are free, and
that we have thousands of options and choices, can make us feel dizzy. A life path predetermined with all the
correct choices laid out neatly is comforting.
However, with free choice and no systems other than those of our own
making to help us choose wisely, we can feel like we are not standing on solid
ground; vertigo or dizziness is usually a consequence.
Challenge:
Absurdity and Authenticity
We are thrown into a world of
choices and consequences. Often, this world
does not make sense to us. The world is
fundamentally irrational with regard to our engagement with the world. Yes, there is logic, and something called a
scientific method, but there is no encompassing rationality as to how we should
live, what we are to choose as our values, and which values are more valuable
than others. Accidents are everywhere:
innocent children die in senseless car accidents, people fall and become
disabled for life, and people develop misunderstandings between one another on
seemingly accidental events or actions.
We are inclined and often feel compelled to make sense of the
world. We are an order-imposing
species. When something senseless
happens, such as the death of a child, we will often make up narratives like
“it was meant to be” in order not to face the fact that it was completely
senseless, and has no other meaning other than that which we give to it.
How can we be genuine? How can we live life as we choose to live and
how do we determine how to live it? How
do we become authentic when there are so many things out there fighting us from
being who we wish to be and preventing us or slowing us down from making the
choices that we wish to make? Authentic
people are in control of themselves.
They are in control of their value system, and make choices in
congruence with their values. These are
genuine people. Worldly authenticity
involves surveying the fashions of the day, and then conforming one’s choices
to the herd or the crowd, or perhaps confirming to the group one just happens
to be a part of. To allow a group or a
crowd to determine one’s values is not living life authentically.
What kind of being are we? We are different from inanimate physical
objects because we have life; however, a dog has life, and we are also
different from dogs. We have the ability
to think about the past and the future, and to create new objects and ideas
with our imagination; it is unlikely that dogs or any other animals have this
ability. We have an interior world. We are not just an object, but we are a subject.
Our interior life is what is most important to us. It is where our values are, and it is the
point of view whereby we interact with the exterior world.
Being a subject also implies that science cannot help us figure out the
meaning of life. The scientific method
always deals with objects. Even when psychologists make claims about
people, they are still observing the person as an object. The
interior subject is not accessible through the scientific method. Only the subject may access his interior, and
perhaps choose to communicate the contents of this interior only as he is able
and as he wishes. The interior is not an
object for observation from anyone except the subject – the person.
There is much absurdity to humanity. Humans have the capacity for reason, but in
practice, this is not always the case.
Perhaps it is rare for humans to be reasonable or rational. Every state has a need for a criminal justice
system to punish the wicked. Wars break
out between civilized nations with unbelievable carnage. Women cheat on their husbands, and then get
killed by a jealous man. Bar fights
break out after too much drinking.
Teenagers have to test their mettle by getting into trouble. People get bored, and begin to make trouble
in various ways. Even though humans have
the capability of reason, it seems that nature also hardwires our behavior
toward destruction, crime, and violence.
We go to work with the purpose of producing a product or service with
the cooperation of our fellow employees.
However, inevitably, disagreements break out, misunderstandings happen,
people get angry and people get fired, only to be replaced by another set of
people who begin the cycle again. Even
seemingly good people have no choice but to get involved in these skirmishes
and fights. Strife is everywhere, and
rationality is rarely the rule.
To choose the path of least
resistance is to pander to the crowd, avoid fights and conflicts, and to please
everyone as much as possible. However,
if we do this, we lose a lot. We lose
our authenticity by following the crowd, and pleasing others at the expense of
our values. The path of least resistance
is easy. Being an authentic individual
is hard. Engaging in the world to create
and obtain our values is not easy, and one cannot obtain their values using the
path of least resistance. Following the
crowd is not living life authentically.
Seeking the approval of others is not the path to authenticity.
Perhaps the easiest path that
avoids all the strife required to obtain our values is suicide. Then again, this is not the path to pursuing
our values, because suicide destroys all our values. Perhaps the cowardly suicide is the path of
least resistance par excellence.
If life is continuous strife and
striving in the process of the pursuit of our values, how can we make sense of
this? What is the point? There is the legend of Sisyphus. King Sisyphus was condemned to roll a bolder
up a hill, and just before this bolder went over the hill, it would roll back
down the hill, forcing the King to push the rock up again and again. This was punishment for the King for thinking
that he was cleverer than Zeus. Sisyphus
is a symbol for pointless work and effort.
Existentialist writers use this symbology and often speculate that
Sisyphus has a smirk on his face. The
smirk implies that the King embraces the absurdity of his situation. Camus speculates that there is no fate that
cannot be overcome by scorn, and he even recommends an attitude of revolt
toward the world. Perhaps if we face the
absurdity of life with a smirk and scorn, we can be free to accept the
situation as it is, and continue to press on as we can toward our values, even
if we do not obtain them, and even if we face absurd situations in the
process.
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