Existentialism
The Beginning
Existentialism is a particular branch in philosophy, which concentrates its attention upon the matters of existence of everything living. It also involves the concerns of freedom and making a choice. This is the way in which individualities determine their life values and directions. These are humans who are searching for rationality in the irrational world. Obviously, this study involves all the matters of our existence and tries to explain how the life runs through the centuries. It studies the core of human existence.
This very study is utterly complicated, inasmuch as it includes such eternal question as either there exists God or not. It is plain to understand that such issues are not easy at all and deeply delve to the roots of human life. Existentialism suggests humans to rule their own faith. It encourages the thought that all of us are free to do whatever we wish. All the choices we undertake are purely ours and only we are responsible for their consequences. We are answerable only before ourselves. The fundament of this belief relies on freedom, independency and own actions. It assures that we are capable to conquer the absurd way of life with the help of our own decisions and methods we pick up to reach our targets. It fully denies determinism.
This flow of philosophy perfectly suits identities who do not wish to belong to any school of thought or any movement, as it stands for free life. Such folks refuse undergoing any system and laws. They are ready to do whatever they desire. This very direction is similar to Nihilism. Nevertheless, it encourages for more energetic actions and tells to take stronger measures against traditionalism, rational behavior and any philosophical streaming that stands for putting humans in definite restrictions. According to the beliefs of this direction, we should find an ultimate order and the unique meaning of our existence. We have to figure out why do we exist and for what purposes.
One of the main thoughts of this direction is the promotion of self-belief. People have to choose their own ways, regardless of the world order. We are supposed to do exactly what we want and not what we are obliged to do in the regard of rationalism. This philosophy came to existence in the 19th century by Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Notwithstanding, none of them had ever used this term. Afterwards, closer to the middle of the 20th century, other writers and philosophers continued this popular flow and popularized it. They wrote their works and researches about threats, boring way of life, the absurd behavior and nothingness.
Major Beliefs
Existentialists assure that our existence has a concrete direction. They belief that our existence precedes consciousness and is an ultimate reality. Other directions are confident that consciousness is prime. This is the major difference between our streaming and other ones. Consequently, it determines the opposite thoughts and tasks. It makes Existentialists and its followers contrary to traditional philosophical thoughts of the ancient Greeks.
One of the greatest representatives of this direction Sartre once said that man is nothing at the very beginning. This is an element of nothingness. However, afterwards he becomes actually something. The way of becoming something is of course making own decisions and judgments. The ways we reach our life targets define our future development and make us humans. The philosopher believed that we are the smiths of our own fortune and faith. Only we can determine our own advancement. We should avoid listening to rational dogmas and norms. They limit our development. To receive what we desire, we have to break the chains of restrictions that hold us. At times, random and spontaneous decisions are better that the well-thought ones. Rationality draws us back disabling the proper advancement. At least it lingers us. Nevertheless, some of us cannot improve their life and simply regress. That is why it is utterly essential to fight for the freedom and independency. We should not depend on the universe. In such way, we do nothing, but wait for aid. Still, we have to be active and do everything on our own.
Another renowned philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche developed the beliefs of individualism. We are to choose individually what to do with our life and should not follow some definite rules and moral norms. It is possible to reach real truth only after living through personal experience, without copying the behavior of others. Such behavior would be superior to other beliefs, as we do everything ourselves.
Camus said that humans who are longing for order clash with the reality, which has a little of order. Thus, such longing is absurd. The writer and philosopher encouraged to create the norms and meanings with our active minds. Nature should not determine our life. It only gave all necessary for our prosperity. The further development is in our hands. Human actions and interpretations define the entire life.
Existentialism can be theological, agnostic or belong to atheism. In this very issue, the roads of its representatives may strongly differ. Some believe in God, while the others say that He does not exist and other things define our lives. Nevertheless, even in this regard there is a great respect of everybody's thought. We are free to choose any way of personal progress and can believe in whatever we wish.
