Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Existentialism (Theories of Personality Presentation)


Existentialism is a 20th-Century philosophy about the way we find ourselves existing in the world.
A person finds self-meaning through free will, choice, and personal responsibility.
Authenticity is key - being true to one's self, spirit, and character.
Concerned with what IS, not what should be.
Concerned with the questions that Science or systematic philosophy cannot answer.
Existential philosophy logic says a person does not need laws, ethnic rules, or traditions in order to be responsible.
"Everything I do is my responsibility, and free will lets me do whatever I want - but I should consider that others have that right, too."
Wealth and pleasure do not make a life "good".
Social values are too controlling of the individual.
Imposing social norms destroys individuality, dehumanizing people into being the way those in power would like them to be.
 A person's judgement is the factor of what is to believes by a person. Fate is a creation of humanity; human interaction causes fate.

Religious philosopher, Kierkegaard, began the idea of "Existentialism" as a reaction against the systematic philosphies (i.e., Kant) in the late 1800s.
Ideas resurfaced for good when people were upset about the Great Depression and WWII. Philosophers in the 70's and into today argue that it is a nice way to think and reason.

Existentialism is an attractive train of thought because the freedom to truly choose one's preferred morals and lifestyle is key.
One could be a religious moralist, agnostic, an atheist - anything.
No universal agreement on how "philosophy" "politics" or "religion" - it's personal to the individual!
Existentialism pops up in many walks of entertainment, such as movies - Donnie Darko, Little Miss Sunshine, Fight Club, etc. And songs - Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
Life may not be perfect, but it has meaning, and the Existentialist is on a continual journey for true self and true personal meaning in the life they find themselves in.

BE!

A fun video with lots of cultural references https://vimeo.com/35259798
Existentialists explaining their beliefs https://vimeo.com/42983427

No comments:

Post a Comment