SHOUKAT LOHAR

Existentialism is a philosophical approach that focuses on the individual’s subjective experience of existence and the search for meaning in life.

It emerged in the 1940s in post-war France from a group of thinkers who were disillusioned with traditional philosophies that emphasized reason and rationality. Existentialism posits that human beings are free agents who must define their own existence and create their own meaning. The combined individual responsibility, freedom, and choice are the key themes of existentialism.

There are different school of thoughts in the philosophy of Existentialism. Let’s understand a few.

Schools of Thought

Existentialism has several contributors who have unique perspectives on the philosophy of being.

Three significant contributors include Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Jean-Paul Sartre is known for his atheistic existentialism and his view on existentialism as a humanism. According to Sartre, humans are entirely free, and they must create their own values since there is no essential human nature. Sartre believed that human freedom is frightening since it can lead to choices that may have unintended consequences.

On the other hand, Heidegger emphasizes the concept of being, which is the study of human existence and its underlying meaning. He believed that humans are destined to anxiousness and that communities shape human existence. He argues that humans must confront their mortality and the fact that they will eventually die.

Nietzsche, on the other hand, focuses on the idea of the individual and their will to power. According to Nietzsche, individuals must create their own moral values and live life passionately, as if it were their will to do so. He believed that the traditional morals of society are not suitable for everyone, and that the individual must find their own way.

Existential Literature

Existentialism has influenced modern literature significantly and provided a platform for expressing the themes of the philosophy.

Several literary works express the themes of existentialism, and one of the most representative is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Underground.” This novel discusses the individual’s struggle for meaning and the alienation that can result from modern society’s rationalization of human behavior.

It encourages people to be who they are and make choices based on their individual values, rather than conforming to social expectations.

Albert Camus, a French philosopher and author, wrote “The Stranger,” which highlights the idea of human absurdity. Meursault, the protagonist in the novel, finds himself facing charges of murder after he kills an Arab in a moment of passion, not fully comprehending the gravity of his actions.

Similarly, Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit” discusses the concept of hell not being a place of eternal punishment but the infinite need to compare and compete among oneself. In this play, three characters are trapped in a room together and forced to confront their past actions, making them recognize their choices’ freedom. The play discusses the factors that influence human behavior and ultimately highlights the fact that humans are not chained by fate.

Impact of Existentialism on Modern Man

Existentialism has a significant impact on modern society. The 20th century witnessed an increase in the sense of alienation of human beings due to the increasingly rationalized and industrial world. Existentialism found relevance in this society, as it provided an avenue of thought for people who felt disconnected from traditional philosophical and religious tenets.

One of the significant impacts of existentialism is its challenge to traditional norms. It challenges people to look beyond traditional beliefs and convictions and to reflect on their own experiences. It allows individuals to explore the concepts of existence, freedom, and the search for meaning in their own ways. The philosophy creates a platform for people to contemplate and accept their personal experiences and explore their own potential for self-exploration.

This philosophy offers an alternative to the traditional concept of meaning that diminishes human suffering and reducing it to something that can be rationalized and tamed. Existentialism creates a space for the validation of individuals’ experiences, regardless of how non-conforming they may seem. It allows people to recognize the absurdity of life and to find ways of coping with such an absurd existence.

Implications for Modern Man

Existentialism has a significant impact on modern society, and it can help people uncover meaning in their lives. It emphasizes the importance of being present in the moment and connected to the world.

It gives people permission to embrace their individuality and explore their inner selves. The philosophy allows individuals to create their own meaning and values in life, based on personal reflection and exploration.

Existentialism also provides people with an alternative to the traditional lived experience, encouraging them to seek out a more meaningful existence. It encourages people to be who they are and make choices based on their individual values, rather than conforming to social expectations.

Conclusion

Existentialism provides a different view of the meaning of life and has become more relevant in today’s modern world. This philosophy emphasizes that humans are free, responsible and individuals of their own existence. This essay has discussed the variety of schools of thought and the literary works that express this philosophy of being, and how it affects modern man. Existentialism can help individuals validate and explore their experiences, providing an anchor for their identity, and exploring their own way of existentialism. In conclusion, existentialism is recognized as a philosophical framework that promotes the individual’s subjective experience and provides a valuable tool for examining meaning and valuable contributions to modern society.

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Shoukat Lohar is Assistant professor in English at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro. He can be reached at Shoukat.ali@faculty.muet.edu.pk

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GM Chhachhar

Existentialism is a modern school of thought, which emphasizes about the “Existence of human beings,” their freedom, freedom to choose and choice of anything according to the individuals’ desire. According to this doctrine, humans are free to take any decision in search of their” meaning of life” with rational acts in this irrational universe.

One thing is mandatory to understand that this philosophy focuses only the existence of human beings, and nothing else. In this modern philosophy, which is very controversial and in contrast of all religions, it is clearly argued that there is no any transcendent force to control the universe. This directly means, that there is no presence of God in this universe, and in this universe the counter of that nothingness is to search the meaning of life individually.

There is another philosophy humanism, and most of people are unable to understand the difference between the both philosophies but there is huge difference in both school of thoughts. Humanism is also a philosophical view, which focuses on individuals dignity, values, potentials and their free will to figure out what is wrong and what is right for them. On other hand Existentialism believes that individuals are entirely free to take their responsibility for themselves, although that responsibility can be the angst, profound and dreadful. This also emphasizes to focus on the fundamental decisions, which can rise in an essential absurd conditions by the sufferings or sure death with the practice of freedom and choice to oppose the determinism, so the difference is very clear in both.

Existentialism was against the ancient school of thoughts like rationalism, empiricism, positivism, because these all philosophies were focusing on the ultimate universal meaning of metaphysical world as in the search of observed world, despite nihilism was close to this philosophy.

In the evolution of this philosophy these kinds of themes were founded in the ancient Christian and Buddhism, like in the writings of “Augustine “, and “Thomas Aquinas “.

In 17th century there was “Pascal” who suggested that without God the Life is meaningless, boring and miserable. This statement shows that he was believer of the existence of God. His contemporary John Locke worked on the individual’s independence of the self-determinism in the pursuit of “liberalism” and “Individualism” ignoring the purpose of Existentialism.

In the modern Existentialism, there were some philosophers, those were not accepting any theory and view of the world, and they had their own philosophy to introduce it among the people of the world. This started in 19th century from the most influential philosophers of the time “Soren Kierkegaard” and Fredrick Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Karl jaspers, 1883 – 1969) and Edmund Husserl, and writers like the Russian Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881) and the Czech Franz Kafka (1883 – 1924). It can be argued that Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Arthur Schopenhauer also the worked on the development of Existentialism, but the proper term of this philosophy started from the 1940s and 1950s by the two prominent French existentialist “Jean Paul Sartre”, “Albert Camus”, Simone de Beauvoir. Those scholarly works are based on fictional and popularized existential themes like absurdity, alienation, boredom, freedom commitment and contemporary of Blaise Pascal, John Locke worked on the individuals independent and “self-determinism”.

First belief of “Rene Descartes” that man is thrown into in material world, which cannot be “thought away” and therefore the existence means the meaning of the world and consciousness that is pure reality. He asserted that Existence is the essence, which is meaning of life, same as the Greek philosopher asserted. Sartre said: “At first [Man] is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be.” Kierkegaard talked on humans use to counter the anxiety and fear of the individual’s being in this world. Sartre said being a rational is bad faith of an individual attempt to impose the self by irrational phenomena. Kierkegaard focused that the individuals must choose a choice without any universal aid. Nietzsche contented that individuals must own their moral situation. According to Camus, when an individual’s longing for order collides with the real world’s lack of order, the result is absurdity, Human beings are subject in the absurd and ambiguous universe, which meaning is not provided by natural order, but can be created by human’s actions and interpretations.

Existentialists are atheist, theological or theist and agnostic .Some existentialists like Nietzsche claimed that “God is Dead” and concept of God is obsolete. Others, like Kierkegaard were religious, if they did not find any universal aid to prove it, they stressed on individuals freedom and choice to believe of not to believe to choose.

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GM Chhachhar, hailing from village Wada Chhachhar, Taluka Majnhand, district Jamshoro is studying BS English at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Nawabshah.

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