1. Existentialism / Nihilism

3. I. What is Existentialism?

7. Existentialism is the philosophy that holds your existence as your pre-eminent truth and reality.

8. Existentialism in Three Main Themes:

15. Sartre gives his treatment on this view in his philosophical work: “Being and Nothingness”

16. Sartre on existentialism: Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth. ( Being and Nothingness , 1943)

17. II. A Brief History of Existentialism

27. Kierkegaard refers to such episodes as the “Teleological Suspension of the Ethical” Instances where individuals are commanded by God to act irrationally and/or in ways outside the ethical norm – for a specific purpose.

30. “ IRRATIONAL”: 1. By the norms of the time 2. Not based on logic and reason

80. Summary The Main Themes in the Existentialist thought of Sartre, Camus, Kierkegaard and Heidegger.

81. Big Ideas We search for the meaning of our existence and the meaning of our death and suffering. Reality is a lived experience. We need to confront alienation and anxiety and the absurdity of life with courage. We should live a moral life because even though I determine my own essence, I share a common human condition. Nothing defines you but you.

82. Existence precedes essence Traditional philosophy suggests essence precedes existence. We imagine a hammer and then make one. From a religious perspective God had an idea of human beings and then created them (essence then existence). Satre turned this up side down. We come into being, we exist and then through life we develop our essence by questioning and living. I become “human” by becoming conscious.

83. Anxiety and Angst Despair, Anxiety and Angst (fear and dread) can enhance our understanding of ourselves. Happiness alone will not lead to a deep understanding of existence.

84. Absurdity Why am I here and is there purpose to life? Am I simply a small speck in the universe in a world that has no meaning? Kierkegaard asks: I stick my finger into existence, it smells of nothing. Questions everywhere: Where am I? what is this thing called the world? Who is it who has lured me into the thing and now leaves me here? Who am I? How did I come into the world? Why was I not consulted?

85. Alienation We all experience a feeling of being separate, lost, confused, out of place, etc. Modernity has only added to this problem. We are alienated by our own creations; science, capitalism, politics, religion, technology, etc. We need to confront alienation with dignity.

86. Death Death is a facet of life and we must comprehend it to really understand living. Living life as if death does not exist is irresponsibility. Examples? Heidegger saw death as our most authentic moment i.e. you are most alive as you die Watch clip – Fight Club (1h 15:50- 1h 20)

91. III. Existentialism and John Gardner’s Grendel (another side of Beowulf )

99. In Conclusion , REMEMBER : It might hurt a bit at first, but you must have fun with philosophy, or philosophy will have fun with you!