The existentialist is ... The philosophy of existentialism

The philosophy of existence occupies a special place in the fundamental development of the 20th century. It arose as an attempt to create something new, different from the developing views of modern man. It must be admitted that practically none of the thinkers was an absolute existentialist. The most close to this concept was Sartre, who attempted to combine all knowledge in his work under the title "Existentialism is Humanism." How do the existential philosophers interpret the concept of "freedom"? Read below.

The assertion of existentialism as a separate philosophy

In the late sixties people experienced a special period. The man was seen as the main object of philosophy, but a new direction was needed to reflect the modern historical path that could reflect the situation that Europe was experiencing after the wars, being in an emotional crisis. This need arose because of the experience of the consequences of military, economic, political and moral decadence. An existentialist is a person who reflects the consequences of historical catastrophes and seeks his place in their destruction. In Europe, existentialism firmly established itself as a philosophy and was a kind of fashionable cultural trend. This position of people was in the fans of irrationalism.

History of the term

The historical significance of the term as such originates in 1931, when Karl Jaspers introduced the concept of existential philosophy. He mentioned it in his work entitled "The Spiritual Situation of Time." The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard was named by Jaspers as the founder of the current and designated it as a way of life for a certain person. The famous existential psychologist and psychotherapist R. May regarded this trend as a cultural movement that captures a deep emotional and spiritual impulse in the soul of a developing personality. It depicts such a psychological moment in which a person is momentarily presenting the unique difficulties with which he has to face.

The content of the teaching

Existential philosophers build the origins of their teachings to Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. The theory reflects the problems of the crisis of liberals, which rely on the pinnacles of technological progress, but are not capable of revealing the incomprehensibility and unsettledness of a person's life. Supposes constant overcoming of emotional feelings: feeling of being in despair and despair. The essence of the philosophy of existentialism is the attitude toward rationalism, which manifests itself in the opposite reaction. The founders and followers of the direction claimed about the division of the world into objective and subjective sides. All manifestations of life are considered as an object. An existentialist is a person who considers all things based on the unity of objective and subjective thought. The main idea: a person is who he decides to be in this world.

How to realize yourself

Existentialists propose to realize a person as a subject who finds himself in a critical situation. For example, with a high probability of surviving a deadly terror. It is during this period that the world's awareness becomes unrealistically close to the person. They consider him a true way of knowing. The main way to go to another world is intuition.

How the concept of "freedom" is interpreted by existential philosophers

The philosophy of existentialism assigns a special place to the formulation and solution of the problem of freedom. They see it as a certain choice of personality from a million possibilities. Subject things and animals do not have freedom, since they originally have an essence. For the person is given a lifetime to study it and understand the meaning of its existence. Therefore, a reasonable individual is responsible for every perfect act and can not just make mistakes, referring to certain circumstances. Existential philosophers regard man as an ever-evolving project for which freedom is a sense of separation of personality and society. The concept is interpreted from the point of view of "freedom of choice", but not "freedom of spirit". It is the untouchable right of every living person. But people who at least once chose to be exposed to a new feeling of anxiety for the correctness of their decision. This vicious circle pursues man to the very last point of arrival - the achievement of his essence.

Who is a person in the understanding of the founders of the current

May proposed to perceive a person as a process of constant development, but experiencing a recurring crisis. Western culture is particularly keenly aware of these moments, as it has experienced much anxiety, despair and conflict military action. An existentialist is a person responsible for himself, his thoughts, his actions, his being. He should be like that if he wants to remain an independent person. Also, he must have the mind and confidence to make the right decisions, otherwise his future essence will be of appropriate quality.

Characteristic features of all representatives of existentialism

Despite the fact that different teachings impose certain imprints on the philosophy of existence, there are a number of features that are inherent in every representative of the current under discussion:

• The initial starting line of knowledge is an ongoing process of analyzing the actions of the individual. Only being can tell everything about the human person. The basis of the teaching is not a general concept, but the analysis of a concrete human personality. Only people can analyze their conscious existence and must do this continuously. Heidegger insisted especially on this.
• Man was lucky to live in a unique reality, stressed in his writings Sartre. He said that no other beings have a similar world. Based on his reasoning, we can conclude that the existence of each person is worthy of attention, awareness and understanding. Its uniqueness requires constant analysis.
• Existential writers in their work have always described the process of ordinary life preceding the essence. Camus, for example, argued that the opportunity to live is the most important value. The human organism comprehends the meaning of its being on the Earth during growth and development, but only at the end is able to comprehend the real essence. And for each person this way is individual. The goals and ways of achieving the highest good are also different.
• According to Sartre, there is no reason for the existence of a living human body. "He is the cause of himself, his choice and his life," the existential philosophers broadcast . высказывания от идей других направлений философии в том, что как пройдет каждый жизненный этап человеческого развития - зависит от него самого. The difference of the utterance from the ideas of other philosophies is that how each life stage of human development will pass depends on itself. The quality of the essence will also depend on his actions, which he accomplishes on the way to achieving the main goal.

• The existence of a human body endowed with reason is concluded in simplicity. There is no mystery, as natural resources can not determine how the life of a person will pass, what laws and regulations it will fulfill and which will not.
• Man himself must fill his life with meaning. He can choose his vision of the surrounding world, filling it with his ideas and translating them into reality. He can do whatever he wants. The essence of what it is will depend on personal choice. Also, the disposition of one's existence is entirely in the hands of an intelligent person.
• Эго. The existentialist is the ego. Considered in terms of incredible opportunities for everyone.

Difference from representatives of other currents

Existential philosophers, unlike enlighteners, supporters of other trends (especially Marxism), favored the refusal to search for a reasonable sense of historical events. They saw no reason to seek progress in these actions.

Influence on the minds of people of the 20th century

Since the existential philosophers, unlike the enlighteners, did not aspire to see the laws of history, they did not set out to win a large number of associates. However, the ideas of this direction of philosophy had a great influence on people's consciousness. The principles of the existence of man as a traveler going to his true essence, conduct their line in parallel with people who categorically do not share this point of view.