Existentialism Final Exam

Syracuse University

“Truth is Subjectivity”

• Kierkegaard

  • The Subjective Truth

• truth is not objective, but is rather deeply personal, tied to an individual’s relationship with existence and faith

• is a key concept in existentialist philosophy, emphasizing that personal experiences and perspectives shape one's understanding of truth.

• Ex. Praying truly vs untruly (authenticity and subjective passion are the essences of true faith and meaningful existence, even if the objective content of one's belief system is flawed.)

The Present Age

• Kierkegaard

  • Two Ages

• A period of reflection marked by the lack of passion and commitment in life

• its characteristics lead to a sense of despair and anxiety, contrasting with the more passionate and committed ages that preceded it.

Da-Sein

• Heidegger

  • Being and Time

• “Being There”, being human is defined by the capacity to understand existence and the interconnectedness of beings and their experiences.

• emphasizes the importance of individual existence and the context in which it occurs (being is an active process and centrality of existing)

Mitda-Sein

• Heidegger

  • Being and Time

• “Being With”, human beings are inherently social; we are always with others.

• It underscores that human existence is always shaped by relationships—with others, society, and our shared world.

Inferiority Complex

• Fanon (Originated by Adler)

  • Black Skin, White Masks

• Fanon’s definition: a psychological condition rooted in systemic oppression, cultural alienation, and internalized devaluation of one’s identity, often imposed through structures of colonialism and racism.

• Adler’s definition: when an individual feels deeply inadequate or inferior in comparison to others, leading to a persistent sense of self-doubt and low self-esteem.

Dependence Complex

• Fanon, Sartre, Beauvoir

  • Black Skin, White Masks; Bad Faith; Second Sex

• Fanon: where the colonized subject becomes psychologically dependent on the colonizer for identity, validation, and a sense of self-worth.

• Sartre: where individuals rely on others to define their existence rather than asserting their freedom.

• Beauvoir: women’s dependence on men as a result of patriarchal structures (Why women Submit)

The Absurd

• Camus, Nagel

  • The Myth of Sisyphus, The Absurd

• Camus: the conflict between the desire for meaning and the indifferent, meaningless universe

• Nagel: the contrast between the seriousness of human engagement and the ability to understand the actual insignificance of their life.

• We live in consistent tension that needs to be addressed.

Critique of Moral Values

• Nietzsche

  • The Genealogy of Morals

• He critiques them by tracing their origins and exposing their roots in resentment, weakness, and the suppression of human vitality.

• It advocates for a revaluation of values that embraces the will to power and affirms life.

The For-Itself

• Sartre

  • Being and Nothingness

• The "self" is aware of itself and can reflect upon its existence.

• its embodiment of radical freedom, the burden of responsibility, and the constant process of becoming. It challenges individuals to confront their own freedom, take responsibility for their actions, and create an authentic life, free from external definitions and constraints.

Transcendence

• Beauvoir

  • Ethics of Ambiguity

• the ability to project ourselves toward the future, creating meaning and surpassing the limitations of our current situation

Double Consciousness

• Du Bois

  • The Souls of Black Folk

• sense of dual awareness; sense of self vs the perception of others (internally)

• it’s the initial understanding of the struggles associated with navigating a divided identity employed by system oppression.

Good and Bad vs Good and Evil

• Nietzsche

  • Genealogy of Morality

• G+B: Master Morality

  • Good: qualities of the ruling class (strength, power, nobility)

  • Bad: qualities of the lower class (weak, inferior, and mediocracy)

• G+E: Slave Morality

  • Good: qualities of the oppressed (piety, meekness, humility)

  • Evil: qualities of the noble/oppressors (freedom, strength)

• this distinction is significant because he uses slave morality to critique the origins and values of modern moral systems

The Look of the Other

• Sartre

  • Being and Nothingness

• experience of being seen by another person, revealing a fundamental relationship within human existence

• It underscores the complexities of human existence, where our sense of self is shaped not only by our own choices but also by how others perceive and define us.

The Serious Man

• Beauvoir

  • Ethics of Ambiguity

• someone who avoids burdens and ambiguity of freedom by conforming to society and outside narratives that are accepted as absolute truths

• He is a cautionary figure who illustrates the dangers of denying freedom and falling into dogmatism.

The Adventurer

• Beauvoir

  • Ethics of Ambiguity

• Embraces freedom and its ambiguities, often pursuing experiences and life for their gratification, without having regard for others.

• it illustrates both the possibilities and the pitfalls of freedom when it is pursued without an acknowledgment of its relational and ethical dimensions.

The Curse of Animal Life

• Nietzsche

  • Genealogy of Morality

• The price humanity pays for its unique capacity for self-consciousness and reflection.

• While it has burdened humanity with guilt, self-denial, and alienation from instinct, it has also enabled the development of consciousness, culture, and morality.

Bad Faith

• Sartre

  • Being and Nothingness

• the self-deception or lying to oneself, where an individual refuses to acknowledge the truth of their freedom and responsibility.

• it highlights the tension between freedom and responsibility, and how people try to avoid facing the difficult truths about their existence. It calls attention to how individuals engage in self-deception to escape the anxiety of freedom and avoid the burden of creating their meaning.

• Ex. The waiter, the gay man, and the women on a date

Intersectionality

• Spelman

  • Inessential Woman

• different axes of identity—such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and others—intersect in complex and dynamic ways, shaping individuals' experiences of oppression, privilege, and social identity.

• It provides a more comprehensive, nuanced, and inclusive understanding of the complexities of identity and oppression, highlighting the interconnectedness of different social categories, and offers a path toward more equitable and inclusive social justice efforts.

Facticity

• Heidegger and Sartre

  • Being and Time, Being and Nothingness

• H: the facts of existence—the concrete, contingent aspects of an individual’s life that they do not choose and cannot fully control.

  • the unavoidable condition of being human

• S: the aspects of one’s existence that are given, or fixed, but which must be recognized and transcended for a person to live authentically.

  • the tension between facticity and freedom

• it serves as the backdrop against which human freedom and responsibility unfold. It highlights the limitations and constraints of human existence, while also underscoring the freedom we have to make choices within those constraints.

Authenticity

• Heidegger, Sartre

  • Being and Time, Being and Nothingness

• H: a deep understanding of one’s being and the recognition of the finite nature of human existence.

  • confrontation with being

• S: individuals need to recognize their freedom of choice to define themselves and live authentically

  • Emphasizes freedom and self-creation

• Authenticity is about living in a way that acknowledges the truth of one’s existence.

Knight of Faith vs Knight of Resignation

The knight of resignation gives up worldly desires, accepting the impossibility of fulfillment in life. The knight of faith embraces life with the belief that God can make the impossible possible.

Falling prey to the world → alienation

• Falling prey to the world is becoming absorbed in the routine and external expectations of society, losing touch with one's authentic existence and individual potential. This leads to alienation because it separates individuals from their true selves, leading to a life that is dominated by social norms rather than personal, reflective choices. In Heidegger's view, true existential freedom can only be achieved by recognizing and confronting these distractions, overcoming inauthenticity, and reclaiming one's ability to live authentically by making conscious, deliberate choices about one's life and death.

Explain how one of the examples is acting in bad faith (woman on a date, the gay man, or the waiter)

Possible Answers:

• woman on a date

  • Sartre describes a woman who is meeting a man for the first time. In this interaction, she tries to "play the role" of an interested woman, without fully acknowledging her freedom or the possibility of taking an active role in the encounter. She becomes locked into a predefined role of "woman," rather than embracing the possibility that she is free to choose how to act and how to relate to the man. She engages in bad faith by playing a role in social interaction, denying her freedom to define herself beyond societal expectations of femininity.

• The Homosexual Man:

  • Sartre suggests that the homosexual man might refuse to acknowledge the full extent of his sexual identity and freedom, hiding behind societal expectations or fears of judgment. The homosexual man engages in bad faith by denying or hiding his sexual desires and identity, perhaps because he feels the pressure to conform to social norms that view homosexuality as deviant. Instead of accepting his desires and recognizing them as part of his freedom to choose who he is, he tries to distance himself from them, thereby engaging in self-deception.

• The Waiter:

  • Sartre uses the example of a waiter in a café who is overly focused on performing the role of the waiter, taking on the movements and behaviors expected of him as part of his job. Instead of acknowledging that he is a free individual who can choose and define his actions, he becomes trapped in the rigid expectations of his job. The waiter falls into bad faith by identifying too strongly with his role as a waiter and acting as though this role is his essence.

Beauvoir and the “master-slave” dialectic. How does she justify human existence?

The dialectic describes the dynamic of self-consciousness and recognition between two individuals who exist in a relationship of domination and subordination. This reveals that The master needs the slave to affirm their dominance and identity, while the slave, through their labor and submission, is the one who possesses true productive power, though they are often unaware of it. According to Beauvoir, the man is the master and the women are the slaves. Women’s roles have often been confined to the private sphere of the home, and their identities have been shaped by the roles that men impose upon them. As reflected in The Second Sex, men are dependent on women to maintain their sense of power, identity, and dominance.

Why do women remain submissive? What justifies human existence?

Beauvoir argues that women's submission is not due to any inherent nature or biological destiny but is a result of the social, psychological, and cultural forces that shape their lives. She also argues that women remain submissive because of its benefits (EX. financial security ). By understanding these forces, Beauvoir believes that women can begin to break free from the conditions that perpetuate their subordination and assert their freedom.

Human existence is justified through freedom and ethical responsibility. Rather than depending on external justifications or fixed meanings, human beings create meaning through their freedom to choose, act, and engage with others. This existence is inherently ambiguous, and the justification of life lies in our ability to navigate this ambiguity, exercise our freedom in ways that respect and promote the freedom of others, and contribute to the ongoing creation of meaning in an uncertain world.

How does Sartre or Beauvoir respond to the claim “If god does not exist, then everything is permitted.”?

For both philosophers, the absence of God does not eliminate the need for moral responsibility; rather, it demands that individuals face the burden of freedom and act in ways that are authentic and respectful of others. However, Beauvoir’s response focuses on the interdependence of freedom, particularly concerning gender and social justice. She argues that freedom does not lead to permissiveness but requires an ethical engagement with others. More specifically, in the absence of God, we must navigate this ambiguity, creating ethical frameworks that consider the freedom of others and the common good.

What is the curse of animal life? how is human existence redeemed?

The curse is that human beings are trapped by their animalistic instincts and the biological drives that they share with other animals. This connection to the animal world is what Nietzsche considers a curse because it often holds human beings back from realizing their true potential as higher forms of life capable of creating meaning, values, and culture. The redemption of human existence lies in our ability to transcend our animal nature through creative acts that affirm life instead of denying it. The philosopher transcends animal instincts through reason and the creation of new values, rejecting herd morality. The artist transforms suffering and chaos into something meaningful and beautiful, offering an alternative to nihilism. The saint transcends worldly desires through individual willpower, though Nietzsche is critical of this path for denying life’s affirmations.

Explain two stages of Beauvoir’s moral stages, why does she believe these people are not morally mature? (subman, serious man, nihilist, etc.)

• The serious man seeks meaning and purpose in external systems or values, whether they are religious, political, or ideological. They lack authentic freedom because they surrender their will to these systems, and they often avoid self-reflection or questioning of their beliefs. Their moral immaturity stems from their rigid adherence to fixed values, which prevent them from engaging with the full complexity of existence and the ambiguity of life.

• The adventurer, on the other hand, seeks freedom in constant novelty and pleasure. They embrace the freedom of choice but do so in an escapist, self-centered manner. The adventurer’s moral immaturity lies in their inability to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions and in their lack of commitment to the freedom of others.

What are at least two critiques of Beauvoir according to Spelman?

1: Beauvoir’s focus on the experiences of middle-class women limits the universality of her theory, ignoring the diverse and intersecting struggles of women from working-class, racial, and other marginalized backgrounds.

2: Beauvoir’s framework, influenced by existentialism, emphasizes freedom and psychology over material conditions. This leaves unexamined the critical role that economic dependence plays in women’s oppression and fails to account for how economic autonomy can enable or constrain women’s freedom and agency.

What is one reason why Fanon is critical of Mannon’s analysis of the Malagasy?

Fanon criticizes Mannoni for pathologizing the Malagasy people by attributing their behavior to an internalized sense of inferiority and dependency rather than understanding it as a response to the brutal realities of colonial oppression. Fanon’s critique of Mannoni is that he attributes the Malagasy's behavior to a psychological flaw rather than recognizing it as a reaction to the dehumanizing effects of colonization. Fanon sees this as a form of blaming the victim, suggesting that colonized people are not inherently inferior, but are made so by the system of colonialism.

Explain Du Bois’ second sight, double consciousness, and twoness.

• second sight: the dual vision African Americans have, seeing both through their own eyes and through the eyes of the dominant, often oppressive, culture.

• double consciousness: the internal conflict of seeing oneself through two contradictory lenses — as an individual with their own identity and as an object of racial judgment and marginalization in the eyes of others.

• twoness: the internal contradiction of being both Black and American in a society where these two identities are not always in harmony, leading to a sense of fragmentation and a continuous struggle for a unified self.