Existentialism

"What is a rebel? A man who says no." This quote can be attributed to one of the most famous existentialist's of all time, Albert Camus. He and others like him were often called rebels because of what they believed in, because what they believed in went against the norm.

Existentialism is a very contradictory and very controversial philosophy. Existentialism tries to make sense of mankind's desire to make rational decisions in an otherwise irrational universe. What existentialism gets at is that either there is no inherent meaning in life, or it has a meaning we can not comprehend. Either way, we are forced to define our own meanings, even if they might lose their value over time. And this brings about the basic truth in existentialism- The individual defines everything.

Although this is the basis of existentialism, the philosophies of existentialists are often contradictory. Sometimes, these individuals can even contradict themselves, through their actions and their writings. This is why it is impossible to give an exact definition. Some simple definitions for existentialism are- The doctrine that existence takes precedence over essence and holding that man is totally free and responsible for his acts. This responsibility is the source of dread and anguish that encompass mankind (Webster's New World Dictionary). A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts (The American Heritage Dictionary). These definitions are merely blanket statements and do not encompass the entire existential philosophy.

Existentialism began mainly as a revolt against old European philosophy during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Traditional European philosophers treated philosophy as a science but the existentialist rejected this idea because they felt that objective, universal, and certain knowledge was unattainable. Existentialism only became a truly influential philosophy during the mid-1900s, when WWII brought about feelings of despair and hopelessness. Many began to lose their faith in god; for how could there be a god, in a world where there was so much pain and suffering? These feelings led to the idea that people have to create their own values in a world in which traditional values no longer had any place.

One of the most famous existential philosophers of all time was French author, Jean-Paul Sartre. He defined existentialism through Edmund Husserl's idea of phenomology, which is an idea in which reality is described not through science, but rather through experience, or phenomena (phenomology consists in realizing the presence of an object and elucidating its meaning through intuition). Sartre was one of the most influential existentialists of the 20th century and it was mainly through his work that existentialism came to the attention of a wide international audience. Sartre had a gloomy disposition on life (but

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