Learn what the philosophy of existentialism is. Discover characteristics of existentialism and the history of the thinkers with whom existentialism is associated.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Existentialism | Characteristics & Examples
Table of Contents
- What is Existentialism?
- Characteristics of Existentialism
- Historical Existentialism Examples
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main idea of existentialism?
The main idea of existentialism is that life is inherently meaningless. There is no purpose to human existence naturally, but rather, one must create it for themselves.
How do you define existentialism?
Existentialism is the worldview that everything lacks inherent meaning. Rather, existentialists encourage one to find their own meaning through authentic action.
Table of Contents
- What is Existentialism?
- Characteristics of Existentialism
- Historical Existentialism Examples
- Lesson Summary
What is existentialism? Existentialism is simply a school of thought that many subscribe to answer the fundamental questions regarding a particular outlook referred to as the existentialist outlook. There are several philosophers with whom the term is most commonly referenced; however, some philosophers outright reject being associated with the school of thought, while others were so early on the scene that they were unfamiliar with the term.
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The characteristics of existentialism emphasize the authenticity of single individuals as to how the world can change; rather than relying on a God, existentialists urge the individual to take responsibility for their place in the world. For instance, the existentialist singular thought or dilemma finds the human experience seemingly pointless, at least at the beginning of one's assessment of the world, resulting from being in an uncaring world. Much existentialist thought came to rise after the famous find by Charles Darwin that humans are merely products of biological evolution. With this, the world grew increasingly materialistic. As a result, the truth of scientific fact came to outweigh religious belief, stripping the world of inherent meaning and humans of their divine right. Suddenly religious thought made way for scientific fact, and philosophers were trying to make amends with this loss of meaning.
Although existential ideas are sometimes far-reaching and contradictory, there are many shared ideas agreed upon by philosophers that labels them as an existentialist. One of such ideas is that humans must now create meaning in the world; this is a contradictory view when viewed from the viewpoint of a God receiving meaning or someone getting meaning from the world. However, the existentialist argues that purpose can be found in one's pursuits, typically through artistic or altruistic means.
An existentialist viewpoint means seeing existence as absurd, something with no evident purpose even though humans persist as if they have one. The existential cure for this apparent meaninglessness lies in looking at and being entirely truthful and authentic with oneself. As a result, the critical eye can embark on a journey of self-realization, allowing the individual to become something like a God of their own.
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Existentialism examples vary in their method of attaining this God-like position where one establishes meaning for themselves. Many original existentialist concepts were developed by philosophers of the mid-to-late-1800s, adopted, and finally understood fully more than a century later by the existentialist movement.
It is safe to say that the ideas of existentialism took time to resonate with many philosophers. However, after World War's framed existentialist thought in a very particular way with massive death rates as well as the Atom bomb, philosophers began taking the thoughts of existentialists much more seriously.
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
Existentialism began once the problem of existence was clearly defined; this was done in Being and Time, a book in which German philosopher Martin Heidegger was the first to write down the ramblings that would eventually come to be existential thinking. Published in 1927, Heidegger spoke of the inability of science to completely capture human experience and the heightened state of anxiety when one thinks of death and nothingness. Heidegger introduced the thought that one should use authenticity to develop their identity through freedom of choice and commitment.
Existentialism then undertook a critique of the world. Distinct differences were made between the belief that one gets their experience and meaning of the world symbolically. Another school of thought, known as early existentialism, negated this view based on the direct experience of meaning, stripped of symbolism. In other words, something may still be meaningful for the sake of merely experiencing it rather than tying it to a meaningful symbol.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Coined with the name "The First Existentialist," Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard's beliefs were focused on his Christian faith, although unable to be entirely reduced. His most famous book, Fear and Trembling, published in 1843, argued that an individual attains self-realization and experiences meaning when taking on universal aspects, bringing personal desires under the governance of a higher serving order the conceptualization of what one ought to be.
Kierkegaard used a perfect example in his book as proof that one's good may not be prescribed to the masses but depended on the individual. He cited the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, wherein Abraham sacrificed his son, the one he had been waiting over one hundred years to conceive, being stopped by God only at the last moment. This story shows that Abraham needed to almost go through with the act of sacrificing his son in order to attain the true moral courage to live up to his ideal, whereas another person might not fit this ethical mold.
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Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Given his terrible state of health, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was an absolute genius in his prolific literary output and contribution to the development of existential thought. For Kierkegaard, the existence of God gave reason to live up to a higher good, whereas for Nietzsche, it was the proclamation of God's death that gave rise to the need for meaning. Nietzsche saw the reverberations that were going to happen due to Darwinism, which is part of why he is an existentialist who did not know his school. Nietzsche based his philosophy on the fact that humans are biological animals, claiming that humans would need to develop their morality if they no longer can place it in God.
Published in 1901, Nietzsche's book The Will to Power stated that Christianity arose from the weak resenting those in power, thus creating an animal who goes against his own personal instincts. Nietzsche argued for a new tool to battle against these natural instincts, something developed by the person depending on their personal freedom.
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Existentialism answers the question of meaning in life due to being what one makes it. For instance, developing a higher ideal and forcing oneself to live up to it, no matter how one articulates this ideal, is the key to existentialist thought. Existentialism assumes the world as a place that initially seems pointless and uncaring, and this is cured by taking responsibility on the level of the single individual.
It is safe to say that the ideas of existentialism took time to resonate with many philosophers, such as Martin Heidegger, Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche. However, once the responsibility is established, the absurdity and seeming lack of pointlessness disappear, and one can find meaning again. Through authentic action, one can find existentialism examples in religion, helping others, becoming their ideal, and living a meaningful life as an existentialist.
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Video Transcript
What is Existentialism?
Have you ever felt like you don't know where you're going, or if you're making any progress at all in your career or your life? If so, you were most likely having an 'existential moment.' Existentialism is a philosophical and literary perspective that focuses on the experience of an individual person and the way that he or she understands the world.
After World War II, some philosophers and writers saw the world as an indifferent place without a set of universal rules that applied to everyone. In light of the large number of casualties, the Holocaust and the use of the first atomic bomb, post-war writers in particular found societal rules and views especially unreliable.
History
Philosophers who debated the meaning of life in 19th-century Europe were trying to understand what it meant to have a 'self' and how human beings could live an ethical existence. While mathematicians and scientists explored the natural laws of the universe, religious people and theologians discussed God's expectations for a good life and the human soul. At the same time, social scientists tried to explain economic and social phenomena through methods involving logic and reason.
In comparison to the vastness of the universe, it's not surprising that human experiences and lives often seemed brief and insignificant. Inevitably, people may have wondered: 'Why do so many bad things happen to good people?' And if there was an omnipotent being, why did that being seem indifferent rather than interested in what happened to us?
After the Second World War, existential writers started to think of human beings in more individualistic terms, as confused and powerless as they might be in the universe. Instead of focusing on society's expectations of a person, existential philosophers and literary figures aimed to explore the meaning individuals created for themselves. They were not interested in painting a rosy or optimistic picture of the world; instead, they were willing to point out challenges that often had no solutions.
Characteristics
According to existentialists, human beings spend their lives in a void plagued by angst and despair in a world defined by alienation and absurdity. Absurdity refers to the persistence of human beings in living out our lives, despite little evidence that what we do matters in the greater universe. We create meaning in our lives even when there is little or no evidence of a natural force or omnipotent being protecting or guiding us. We simply continue to exist aimlessly.
Existentialists also used words like 'authenticity' and 'freedom.' Authenticity describes the attribute of taking responsibility for one's own experience, instead of viewing your experience as defined by outside forces, such as God, the greater society or the universe.
An authentic life is one in which you choose what matters to create your own meaning, an awareness of which leads to freedom. However, this freedom comes with a price, since an awareness of reality is painful and anxiety inducing. While authenticity and freedom may lead to clearer choices, they don't necessarily make life more pleasurable. Yet, we continue to exist.
Literary Examples
The Theatre of the Absurd is a classic example of how existentialism works on the stage. For example, in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, two men wait with anticipation for a man named Godot who never actually arrives. During the play, their conversations consist mostly of one-liners, repetitive and often covering mundane and superficial topics that never go anywhere.
However, on one occasion, the characters do share a fleeting moment, in which they realize the absurdity of the situation:
Estragon: 'We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?'
Vladimir: 'Yes, yes, we're magicians.'
Aside from this moment, the men continue to wait, and wait and wait. From an existentialist viewpoint, their waiting represents the human experience in that no matter how insignificant and mundane, we create meaning for ourselves while waiting out the course of our lives.
Similar literary situations and themes can be found in the Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, in which a man continuously rolls a boulder up a hill, only to have it fall down again. In No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, people waiting in a locked room to be tortured are actually torturing each other.
Lesson Summary
The term existentialism refers to a philosophical approach that describes the single individual operating in an indifferent world, with all of the challenges that such an existence presents. The philosophy tends to focus on the absurdity of our willingness to persist, despite little or no evidence that we are actually progressing.
In the existential world, human beings live out their lives in angst and despair while remaining alienated from one another. However, existentialism also challenges us to authenticity and emphasizes how responsible we are for our own destinies.
In literature, existential themes can be found in No Exit, the Myth of Sisyphus and Waiting for Godot. In these literary works, we find characters engaged in pointless activities or waiting for other characters that never arrive.
Learning Outcomes
Once you are finished, you should be able to:
- Recall what existentialism is and how it was affected by World War II
- Summarize the characteristics of existential thought
- Describe examples of existentialism in literary works
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Existentialism | Characteristics & Examples
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