Existentialism

Decarte

founder of modern philosophy, created phrase “cogito ergo sum”

Kierkegaard

existence is personal and is the supreme interest… must live a responsible life… take a leap of faith ex. must blindly believe in religion even if there is no proof of gods existence.

Sartre

believes same as Kierkegaard but no “leap of faith” he is not religious. Founder of either/or choices… we are condemned to be free → anxiety and angst → you make choices and care about your own life… must live an authentic life 

Nietzsche 

amor fati - love your life

evolution of society(society needs to evolve continuously)… will need rebels or supermen to revolt against the norm → will be killed → ideas will live on → ideas normalized and accepted → repeats

Eternal Return - a demon shows up at your bedside and asks if you have enjoyed your life… if you can say that you would re-live every moment of your life and make the same choices again, you have lived a valid and authentic existentialist lifestyle. 

Schopenhaur

Tragic optimism - acknowledge the hardships of life and transform them into purposeful things using creativity.

Pessimism - life is full of suffering and striving. Once a person has achieved what they have been striving for, they get only a small window of happiness and then move back into striving for more. This provides no meaning in life. The only was to escape this cycle is by following some sort of asceticism OR by finding brief moments of escape through art.

Definition of Existentialism

In a world where there is no purpose and existence precedes essence, you must live an authentic and responsible human life and create meaning through your own will.