Introduction to
Existentialism
Literature and Philosophy
WARNING:
EXISTENTIALISM DEALS WITH INTENSE
THEOLOGICAL (“RELIGIOUS STUDY”) AND
ONTOLOGICAL (“STUDY OF BEING”) AS WELL AS
EPISTEMOLOGICAL (“STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE”)
ISSUES. THIS CLASS IS NOT ENDORSING
EXISTENTIALISM AS BEING ANYTHING MORE THAN
MERE THEORY. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
LEARNING THE TENETS OF EXISTENTIALISM AND
RELATING THEM TO LITERATURE.
EXISTENTIALISM CAN BE A WEE BIT DEPRESSING
IT TENDS TO PROJECT A “LIFE-IS-MEANINGLESS,
GLASS-HALF-EMPTY” SORT OF VIEW ON THINGS.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOVE IT YOU JUST HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND IT.
The Problem of Meaning
Humans crave meaning
A universe that makes sense
Create stories to make sense out of the
universe; but when the universe doesn’t
cooperate you feel like a stranger in the world
What is
philosophy?
What does it all mean?
Why are we here?
What should I do with
my life?
Philosophers analyze,
they pick apart, and
then they try to come
up with reasons for
their beliefs and
reasoned answers for
A complex
philosophy
emphasizing the
existence of the
human being,
the lack of
meaning and
purpose in life,
and the
solitude
ANDREW WYETH
of
human
Christina’s World (1948)
It was during the
Second World
War, when
Europe found
itself in a crisis
faced with death
and destruction,
that the
existential
movement
began to
flourish,
popularized in
France
in
the
GEORGIO DE CHIRICO
1940s…
Love Song
Two Different Types of Existentialis
Godly (Kierkegaard; Marcel and Maritain (Catholic); Tillich and
Berdyaev (Protestant) and Buber (Jewish))
Believe God exists, but people are alienated from Him.
Man is alienated from his God-like self, and the problem of his life
is trying to close that gap
freedom involves accepting the responsibility for choice and
committing to the choice
Ungodly (Sartre and Camus)
Do not believe God exists.
“Because their is no God to give purpose to the universe, each man
must accept individual responsibility for his own becoming.”
In choosing for himself, he chooses for all men “the image of man
as he ought to be.” He has to make good choices that others could
follow
Big Ideas of Existentialism
Despite encompassing a
huge range of
philosophical, religious,
and political ideologies,
the underlying concepts
of existentialism are
simple…
MARK ROTHKO
Untitled (1968)
Cogito ergo sum.
Existence Precedes
Essence
“Existence precedes essence” implies that the
human being has no essence (no essential self).
Existence Before Essence
People are born like a blank slate and create their
essence or being through their unique experiences.
Absurdism
• The belief nothing can explain or
rationalize human existence.
• There is no answer to “Why am I?”
• Humans exist in a meaningless, irrational
universe and any search for order will
bring them into direct conflict with this
universe.
Alienation or
Estrangement
• From all other
humans
• From human
institutions
• From the past
• From the future
• We only exist right
now, right here…
EDGAR DEGAS
“L’absinthe” (1876)
Nothingness and Death
EDVARD MUNCH
Night in Saint Cloud
(1890)
Nothingness and Death
• Death hangs over all of us. Our awareness of
it can bring freedom or anguish.
• “Nothingness is our inherent lack of self. We
are in constant pursuit of a self. Nothingness
is the creative well-spring from which all
human possibilities can be realized.” –JeanPaul Sartre
Freedom: Choice and Commitment
• Humans have freedom to choose
• Each individual makes choices that create his
or her own nature
• Because we choose, we must accept risk and
responsibility for wherever our commitments
take us
• “A human being is absolutely free and
absolutely responsible. Anguish is the result.”
–Jean-Paul Sartre
Dread and Anxiety
MAN RAY
Les Larmes (Tears)
Dread and Anxiety
• Anxiety stems from our understanding and
recognition of the total freedom of choice that
confronts us every moment, and the
individual’s confrontation with nothingness.
Some Famous
Existentialists
• Søren Kierkegaard
(1813-1855)
• Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844-1900)
• Jean-Paul Sartre
(1905-1980)
• Albert Camus
(1913-1960)
“A woman is not
born…she is
created.”
de Beauvoir’s most famous text
is The Second Sex (1949), which
some claim is the basis for
current gender studies…
Nihilism is the
state of belief in
nothing
“When you ain’t got nothin’,
you got nothing to lose.” (Bob Dylan)
A nihilist refuses to see this possibility. For the
nihilist, when you ain’t got nothin’, you got
nothing to win
Existential
Literature
Three people to know: Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80),
Albert Camus (1913-60) and Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86)
Albert Camus:
The Smiling Sisyphus
THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS
Camus publishes this non-fiction work a
year after completing The Stranger. In
this retelling of the myth of Sisyphus, he
embodies his concept of the Absurd.
The story concludes with Camus’ pivotal
philosophical statement:
“The struggle itself toward the heights is
enough to fill a man’s heart. One must
imagine Sisyphus happy.”
To understand his point, we must
understand the themes that his writing
explores.