I was reading an article the other day, by Alex Green on existentialism. Like all other philosophies of life that I have studied, it appears to me to have some obvious truths. A few of its described features, however, do not ring true to me, or, at least, have little or no apparent value. This philosophy suggests that we take a good hard look at ourselves and then ask the question “Who am I and how shall I live?” This question is similar to the universal questions of life: Who am I; where did I come from; and, why am I here? If we are curious enough to ask those ques- tions and persistent enough to search for the answers, chances are that we will find some kind of an acceptable answer. Isaiah Berlin, said, “Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not.” Philosophers, regardless of whether or not they have found the answers, to life and life’s thorny questions proves that they are not barbarians because, they have demonstrated a curiosity according to Berlin.
“Who am I?” is not a question that you can have answered by just any ‘man on the street.’ It’s really a deep question that may be answered to our satisfaction by a life scientist or maybe, more appropriately, by a religious leader, someone who has studied the spiritual aspects of life. Existentialism may encourage a person to ask the questions, but it doesn’t attempt to provide any of the answers.
Another of the tenants is explained as ‘the acceptance of and the confrontation of the absurd.’ Ecclesiastes, ‘The Preacher,’ was quoted, apparently, in support of that tenant, when he said,
“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. What does man gain from all his labor and toil here under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2–3). The example given was, ‘Each of us drops unexpectedly into this world, in a universe where time—at least as we know it—has no beginning, space, no end, and life, no pre-set meaning. It is an inexplicable mystery.’ Those questions do seem rather absurd to a person who may have had little or no interest in the answers. But to many of us, who feel we do have some of those answers, the absurd loses either its ‘ab’ or its ‘surd.’ Many of us who ‘ have dropped into this world’ do feel we know life’s meaning and purposes. The existentialists agree that life has only the meaning you choose to give it. Sartre even declared that man is, “nothing else but what he makes of himself.”
Another existential tenant is the concept of ‘personal freedom.’ Life is given meaning through personal freedom and the choices we make. That tenant is similar to ‘agency’ as described in LDS doctrine. Freedom of choice also makes us responsible for the outcome. As choices and responsibility increases, we feel that greater freedom and hope may be realized.
Individualism is another tenant of existentialists. They feel that society continually pulls us toward conformity. There are immense social pressures to get along and live pretty much like everyone else. They teach that one must be an individual and fight against the pressures to conform. There are, of course, opposing views about that idea. There are individuals and groups worthy of emulation and if followed in a general way one can find great happiness and joy. Being a nonconformist can cause an individual to be ostracized and forced to move from one community to another to gain minimal acceptance and employment, etc. Such a stance can cause one to lead a very difficult and lonely life!
Another tenant is described as ‘Authenticity.’ When we begin to do what we want—and not what others expect–then we begin to live authentically. Family and friends want us to go on ‘their trip,’ so to speak. Yet, authentic individuals are in control of their own lives. This tenant is similar to the previous one, but again, it is hard to ‘kick against the pricks’ as Paul, the apostle, said nearly two thousand years ago.
Passion is another tenant, existentialists believe we should devote ourselves to a cause, one that we are willing to organize our life around, perhaps even die for (being passionate and engaged is crucial). In all walks of life, you’ll find that passionate men and women are more purposeful. This particular tenant almost appears to be contrary to the previous two but I suppose the cause could be a solo cause, not associated with the need to conform to a group cause. Even though most people will agree that a group effort toward a cause is much more productive than an individual effort.
Even though they believe that life is finite, existentialists do not see this as a reason for pessimism. They feel that facing death is what forces us to take life seriously. I believe it is much easier to face death when we know what to expect after we are dead. An existentialist does not have a spiritual answer for that question. Therefore, those who follow the tenets of existentialism don’t live as though they have forever, putting off until “someday” the things they really want to do. Each day, each moment, is precious and irreplaceable for them. That is good advice for everyone regardless of our philosophy or our religious understanding. We should hold life and time on earth as precious, especially time with family and those whom we love. Since they believe that death is inevitable, we should, ‘not be a sissy,’ but take advantage of and do the best you can with what time you have. Nietzsche, a philosopher associated with existentialism, refers to it as a ‘noble ideal’ “Your life, he argues, is an unwritten book that only you can write.” That statement is pretty much true regardless of our philosophy or religious beliefs.
Existentialism is called the philosophy of freedom, encouraging us to be free to do as our conscious dictates regardless of what others do or may even advise. The implication here is that a conscious is independent of the society that we are raised up in. In reality, it is not independent of society. A conscience is not something that we are born with, fully developed, and ready to guide behavior in a mature and orderly way.
Existentialism, however, is also known as “the no-excuses philosophy.” We may be old. We may be broke. We may be sick. But existentialists say we start from where we are and move forward. How? By accepting responsibility and making choices. That, of course, is a great philosophy for the healthy and able but possibly a death sentence for those lesser or unable souls.
Existentialism is not a formal, well documented philosophy with a registered following but there are a great many who subscribe informally to its precepts. However, like I said, at the beginning of this thought, that there are truths embedded in most philosophies, statements and or tenants that appear to make sense. Then there are tenants that on the surface sound good but which might cause us to become isolated from our community and if we are not strong individuals, mental disorders could follow.
Each of us would be truly blessed to feel that we have adopted a way of life, either a philosophy or a religion, that provides satisfactory answers to most of life’s questions. As for me, just to believe that there is a God and to understand that life is progressive and eternal is enough to provide direction and happiness. All the philosophies and world religions are grossly wanting without, at least, that much of an answer.