Existentialism

[Meticulous Man]

I'd like to learn more about various philosophical movements and I'll start by creating a thread about Existentialism. Currently I don't have but a vague idea of what Existentialism is about. Who were/are the main Existentialist philosophers (Kierkegaard, Sartre...?) and what were their most important works and ideas? Which of these do you agree or disagree with? What does Existentialism mean to you?

[C0ckney]

existentialism = depressing bollocks

[Meticulous Man]

"Existentialist angst" is a concept I've heard of before... what is it? Why do many people find Existentialism depressing?

[alva]

Sure it's frightning too many, no comfort of a suberbeing (but yourself). No one to blame and no-one to look too, to improve things for you.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by alva
Sure it's frightning too many, no comfort of a suberbeing (but yourself). No one to blame and no-one to look too, to improve things for you.

as info, not all existentialists are atheists, but the views of God even from religious existentialists are not necessarily the most comforting.

[Japher]

Was Albert Camus a existentialist? I like his books. I kind of subscribe to the philosiphy, accept from the "you become worm food when you die" idea. While it's probably true, the thought of a heaven is much more pleasant.

[Al B. Sure!]

Existentialists are as varied as the Christian Dostoevsky to the "God is dead" Nietzsche (who, due to preceeding other existentialists like Sartre, might be described as proto-existentialist)

the basic idea is that you have no essence (your entire point in living) but that which you create. A pen was created to write for example and does not chose what it will become but as humans, we are clean-slates, who can become and do anything depending on what we want. furthermore, we are capable of anything and everything and can not blame anyone or anything for us failing to achieve our goals.

Existentialism is synonymous with the concept of the American Dream and capitalism though very strangely the majority of existentialists were socialists (how does that make sense? if a man is only accountable to himself for his success or failure, why would a socialist State exist to re-distribute wealth, etc.?)

[Japher]

I guess I am much more an existentialist than I thought. Even when we did that philospher test thingy a while back it told me that my philosophy most closely resembles Nietzsche's... I guess I should do some reading. Good writters are always ones you agree with

[Meticulous Man]

I think Albert Camus is usually considered an existentialist. Haven't yet read anything by him, though.

Existentialism is synonymous with the concept of the American Dream and capitalism though very strangely the majority of existentialists were socialists (how does that make sense? if a man is only accountable to himself for his success or failure, why would a socialist State exist to re-distribute wealth, etc.?)

Maybe they thought that the kind of communist society they advocated would have afforded greater chances for self-realization for everyone? Remember that in a "true" communist society, even the state is supposed to have withered away.

I didn't know Nietzsche and Dostoevsky were existentialists... but what about Kierkegaard? Isn't he considered to be the founder of existentialism? I think he lived before Nietzsche, too...

[Fake Boris]

Nietzsche is considered to be the grandfather of existentialism.

Then there was Heidegger's ontology, which inspired Sartre's "L'être et le néant".

The most important existentialist thinkers are, to my knowledge, Sartre, Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir. In France, existentialism had a popular success (with Sartre's L'existentialism est un humanisme), but in the academic circles structuralism was definitely more important.

[Japher]

Maybe they thought that the kind of communist society they advocated would have afforded greater chances for self-realization for everyone?

I don't really think they would care about everyone to the point of abandoning their believes. You are what YOU make of yourself not what the others deem you to be. I think most socialist existentialists are probably just fooling themselves... Kind of like those who believe you need to alleviate sins through prayer and not through atonement of the real kind.

[Soul Survivor]

Sartre's "No Exit" is very very good, but I find most of his other works boring and painful to read. Kiekegaard is probably my favorite of them all, although I don't agree with a lot of his ideas, his writings have had more impact on my life than anything else I've ever read. His best works include "Fear and Trembling", "The Concept of Dread", "Sickness Unto Death". Some of them are pretty complicated and take a while to get through - but well worth the time.

There's also "The Stranger" by Camus, which I have never liked... but it is considered one of the foremost existentialist works. Then of course Dostoyevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov" is my personal favorite. Beckett's "Waiting For Godot" and anything by Nieztsche are also great reads. I tend to agree more with him than I care to admit....

And finally Heidegger, if you can figure out what he's actually saying... please tell me. I still can't get through all of "Being and Time". I wouldn't recomend it unless you want to be throughly and repeatedly confused.

[Meticulous Man]

I don't really think they would care about everyone to the point of abandoning their believes. You are what YOU make of yourself not what the others deem you to be.

What I was trying to say was basically that, in a capitalist society, you might be born to poverty-stricken parents, for example, and therefore have less of an opportunity to make of yourself what you want to be, whereas in a utopian communist society poverty, of course, wouldn't exist, and you would be able to more freely choose your own destiny. Isn't that the whole point of existentialism?

"Fear and Trembling", "The Concept of Dread", "Sickness Unto Death"

They don't sound like very amusing reads. So, who is the founder of existentialism, Kierkegaard or Nietzsche?

[KrazyHorse]

I don't know if Nietzsche is considered existentialist.

Always thought of the founder of Existentialism as Sartre.

[KrazyHorse]

But then again I'm not much of a filosofizer