There are things which man can not control in his life, but he can assume his past and change himself if what he is does not correspond to his scale of values. Man is the only creator of himself and therefore, his own possessor. Which also makes him the only one who is responsible for his life. Subjectivity is to be understood from this perspective
However, the concept under discussion is a bit wider. It also refers to the fact that human nature is a limit for the human. People can not go beyond their own nature and capacity to build the world and ultimately themselves. When creating himself, man will obey certain criteria. Naturally, he will want for these criteria to be universal. That is, while man has the power to decide, he will decide not only for himself as an individual, but for all the individuals
Since man is endowed with reason and able to distinguish the good from the bad, it is safe to assume that the choices he makes shall reflect his values. It would be absurd to think that a less valuable option could be chosen instead of a more valuable one, under the circumstances in which man is driven towards the achievement of happiness.
The implications are of fundamental importance. If god does not exist, nor do the conceptions of good and evil. They too are the responsibility of man. Since there is no determinism, then the only conclusion we can reach is that man is free and that freedom is that which defines him and his nature. The main interest of the existentialist philosophy is not to prove that god does not exist, but to analyze the crisis that man undergoes when becoming aware that his only possession is himself and that the only meaning he can find is inside and through himself
Kaufman, Walter. Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre.(Meridian Publishing Company, 1989 ) (Philip Mairet translator), 12
"Existentialism" in the Stanford Encyclopaedia of philosophy (Available from http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/turabian.html, accessed March 26, 2009)
Kierkegaards, Soren. Either/or: A fragment of life (Penguin classics, 1992), 127
Sartre, Jean Paul. Existentialism is a humanism ( Yale University Press. 2007), 25
Kaufman, Walter. Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre.(Meridian Publishing Company, 1989 ) (Philip Mairet translator), 26
idem
Marcel, Gabriel. The philosophy of existentialism (Citadel, 2002), 159
Bibliography:
"Existentialism" in the Stanford Encyclopaedia of philosophy. Available from http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/turabian.html, accessed March 26, 2009
Kaufman, Walter. Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre. Meridian Publishing Company, 1989 (Philip Mairet translator)
Kierkegaards, Soren. Either/or: A fragment of life. Penguin classics, 1992
Marcel, Gabriel. The philosophy of existentialism. Citadel, 2002
Sartre, Jean Paul. Existentialism is a humanism. Yale University Press. 2007
Existentialism is one of the most talked about -- and least understood -- theories today. Broadly, existentialism is the philosophy of existence or experience. More specifically, existentialism is the philosophical cult of nihilism. In other words, existentialism represents the theory that is that each man exists as an individual in a purposeless universe, and that he must oppose this hostile environment through the exercise of his free will. Camus stresses the
Educational Philosophy The four Educational Philosophies Essentialism Essentialism argues that a common core of knowledge needs to be passed to learners in a disciplined and systematic manner. The concentration in this traditional viewpoint is on moral and intellectual standards that academic institutions should educate. The curriculum focuses on knowledge, skills, and academic rigor. Although this academic viewpoint is similar in some ways to Perennialism, Essentialism accepts the idea that this core curriculum may
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now