Midterm Existentialism

Contingency of Existence

To be or not to be. The idea that you could have not been born, or you could be born. Contingent beings (humans) are dependent on their creators (mothers) to birth them, but it’s also very likely that there is a world where you were never born.

Existence precedes essence

Individuals exist before essence. You create your essence through actions and choices. Essence cannot come before existence.

Facticity (being-in-itself)

Mode of existence of an object or thing that simply exists without consciousness or self-awareness. You are the species that you are. I am human. A butterfly is a butterfly. (FACTicity)

Transcendence (being-for-itself)

A mode of existence that transcends past only existing. It’s what you do to create your essence based on you. Being aware of yourself and doing what you will with that.

Being-for-others, the “look”

A mode of existence in which an individual defines themselves through the lens of others. Essentially, you are no longer the subject, rather the object. (Estelle from No Exit)

Existential responsibility

The freedom to choose goes hand in hand with having responsibility for your choices

Responsibility avoidance

Denial of responsibility is akin to a refusal of accountability; attributing your actions as “unable to help it” or simply “passing on the blame” in an attempt to reflect a facade of innocence.

Authenticity

owning up to our self-defining choices and transcending one's situation to make something of oneself.

Bad faith (self-deception)

To deceive - one must know something and one must not know something. Sartre believes bad faith is self-deception because it involves lying to oneself about one's freedom and responsibilities, often to escape the anxiety that comes with true authenticity.

Ambiguity, ethics of ambiguity (simone de Beauvoir)

In beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”, she touches on the the lack of predefined meaning in human existence and the freedom that comes with it. Human existence is inherently ambiguous because there is no predetermined essence or purpose. Each person must create their own values and meaning in a world without objective or external validation. Individuals are free to choose their own paths. Facing the uncertainty and lack of inherent meaning can lead to nihilism, where individuals reject all values and purposes. Embracing ambiguity means acknowledging the fluidity of existence and the need to constantly question and redefine oneself - despite the absence of guarantees or absolute certainty.

Absurd hero (Camous)

A being that accepts the absurdity of life, yet rebels against the forces diminishing freedom (although in a world of absurdity, one nonetheless succeeds in advancing the cause of freedom)

Forgetfulness of being vs. mindfulness of being

A concept contrasting the neglect of one's existence and awareness of one's being, emphasizing the importance of living authentically and fully aware of one's choices and responsibilities. Heidegger touches on this: “a state of forgetfulness of being: one is leveled down, absorbed in idle chatter, lost in the “they” and surrender to the everyday world, to a concern of the way things are, and waste time on being concerned about the everydayness of life and never reach a point where they contemplate existence at all.” and State of mindfulness of being AKA ontological mode: one marvels not about the way things are but that they are continually aware of being, mindful of the fragility of being but mindful too, of responsibility of ones being.”

Freedom vs. determinism

The philosophical debate regarding whether human actions are determined by external forces or if individuals possess the ability to choose freely, impacting moral responsibility.

Who is Sisyphus, how Camus describes an absurd

hero, how is happiness related to absurd?

Sisyphus “cheated death” and was sentence, by Zeus, an eternity of rolling a boulder up a mountain. Camus describes the absurd hero as a person who is doomed to the absurdity of life but accepts the absurdity and creates meaning out of it. Happiness is related to absurd because one can be happy once they’ve accepted absurdity, take hold of it, and decide what they make of themselves despite the absurdity.

Sartres’ Being and Nothingness and

No Exit: what is bad faith? How does Sartre describe patterns of bad faith? How are the concepts of bad faith and “being-for-others” presented through the characters in No Exit

Bad faith is a form of self-deception where individuals deny their freedom and responsibility by adopting false identities or roles. In "No Exit," Sartre illustrates patterns of bad faith through characters who evade authenticity by projecting their self-worth onto others, ultimately revealing the conflicts between their desires and existential truths.

Yalom: Death awareness and its importance, existential responsibility and patterns of responsibility avoidance.

Yalom emphasizes that awareness of death enhances the appreciation of life, prompting individuals to confront their existential responsibilities. He discusses patterns of responsibility avoidance where people distract themselves from their true choices and the weight of their freedom. Yalom says that “death it itching all the timelike a shadow, reminding us to live authentically and fully. Awareness can lead to greater authenticity.

one is not born, but becomes a woman"

Womanhood is not a natural or biological destiny but rather a social and cultural construct. While biological sex is determined at birth, the social and cultural roles, expectations, and identities associated with being a "woman" are learned and acquired through various societal influences. It distinguishes between biological sex and socially constructed gender. Opposes biological determinism, which argues that biology dictates human behavior and social roles. The idea of "becoming" suggests that women are not passive recipients of social conditioning but can actively shape their identities. It implies the potential for women to challenge and transcend traditional gender roles and expectations.

Ortega: why is there no such thing as human nature?

Being consists not in what they already are, but in what they are not yet; their being is a "not-yet-being. Everything else in the world is what it is, but a human is an entity that makes itself. Humans do not have a nature; what they have is history. He is given the abstract possibility of existing, but not the reality. This he has to conquer hour after hour. MAN MUST EARN HIS LIFE, NOT ONLY ECONOMICALLY BUT METAPHYSICALLY. Humans must strive to be themselves, even when facing unfavorable circumstances. Actively engaging in the creation of one's own identity, values, and purpose through continuous effort and self-definition.

Connection between existentialism and humanism

It is not by turning back upon himself, but always by seeking, beyond himself, an aim which is one of liberation or of some particular realization, that man can realize himself as truly human. Existentialism is a doctrine that renders human life possible and affirms that every truth and action implies both an environment and a human subjectivity.

the nature of choice

One is always free to choose, but if one does not choose, that is still a choice.

In choosing for oneself, one chooses for all men. Not that everyone should make that choice but that one knows of the possibility because other man did so. The one thing that counts, is to know whether the invention is made in the name of freedom.

origin of values in the absence of God