Existentialism:
the renewed interest in the dilemmas of personal
choice. Clearly influenced by Nietzsche’s ‘Death of God’, which released the
bonds of servitude created by organised religion, Existentialism is a reaction
to the second world war and realisation that, if god is dead, as Nietzsche
proclaimed, then where do we look for direction?
Following Nietzsche’s proclamation of the
death of god, intellectual society was left with the knowledge that, if the
moral restrictions that have been placed on us through religion are false
creations of others in society, then what, in this seemingly pointless world,
should we use to decide how we should conduct ourselves, if indeed we should
allow anything to influence how we act.
Free from the restrictions of religion, we
are liberated and given the choice of
how we conduct ourselves and how we should use this short period of life that
we have. This vision of humanity, with no preconditioned features, serving no
purpose, gave inspiration to the gonzo journalism of Hunter S. Thompson and the
like, who sought to portray events with no bias or preconditioned opinion. Such
was the impact of existentialism.
With Existentialism, the development of one’s
character came from the complete, passionate immersion in something. This could
be considered an influence of Heidegger, the dirty Nazi bastard, who invented
the term ‘Dasein’ by which he meant ‘being in the world’; the idea that, in order
to be participating in the most constructive way in life, one must immerse
oneself in a task, becoming the very action they are performing, such as one
does when reading a book or a carpenter during his work. This could explain the
desire of people to feel like an individual, to feel like what they are doing
serves a purpose fulfilling our desire to be seen as part of life through our
participation. The irony for those who wish to be seen taking part in life as
an individual is that they place the importance in the act of being observed as
opposed to the act of achieving Dasein.
The main aspect of Existentialism is that
of choice, as before the realisation
that god does not exist, humans were bound to follow the absolutes enforced by
organised religion. This choice means that the responsibility of how a person
conducts themselves is entirely down to them. All stereotypical preconceptions
as to how certain groups should act are discarded, allowing for the freedom of
groups such as homosexuals, females and the lower echelons of the social class
system are now free to act as they will, no longer bound by the bleak
expectations placed upon them by backward, metaphysical gibberish.
This liberation of ideas meant that, as a
species we were free to roam our potential as individuals and push the
boundaries of what is humanly possible. This bright future has, however, never
been fully realised and I’m sure the likes of Jean Paul Satre would be bitterly
disappointed in the religio-capitalism, that washes through the brains of the
majority in the Western world, for allowing religion to remain, and not
allowing for the fall of the bourgeoisie even in the face of mass starvation in
a world where, with the proper application of scientific knowledge and
resources, everyone could be fed and treated with humanity. In a time where
morality is individual property, it is the wealthiest within our ‘economy’ with
the least morality.
For more information on two of the key
figures in terms of the existentialist movement I recommend these
documentaries:
Jean Paul Satre (part 1(part two can be found on youtube)):
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