Final essay proposal
Antoine Maher Assal
Dr. Gregory Polakoff
Humanities 345-101-MQ sect.52
12 November 2014
Artificial Meaning
Existentialism dwells on the concept of absurdity in life. It focuses on the conflict between the constant and intense search for meaning and the inability to find it. Existentialism also admits that the world is dominated by pain, frustration, sickness, contempt, malaise and death. (Barnes 1962) This is the main ideology behind Jean-Paul Sartre’s work, “Existentialist Ethics”. The existentialist ideology began to flourish during the Second World War. However, the existential system of thought can be traced back to earlier thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. Who is a German philosopher and considered as one of the most provocative and influential thinkers of the late nineteenth century who challenged the foundations of Christianity. (Robert Wicks, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Nietzsche 's philosophy is that ' 'God is dead ' ' and he calls for a ' 'revaluation of all values ' ' in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both Nietzsche and Sartre are atheistic existentialists and agree that “God is dead”, and that human beings must take responsibility for their own actions. The philosophers have a lot of parallels between their thought, and also many differences. The purpose of the final essay is to show that although Nietzsche and Sartre are atheist philosophers, they have different interpretations of the death of God. The paper will also examine how both thinkers share a similar understanding of human freedom and the meaning of life.
List of Works Cited
Barnes, H. E. (1962). Humanistic Existentialism and Contemporary Psychoanalysis, in Kern, E. (ed.) A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N. J: Prentice-Hall.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Trans. Kaufmann, Walter. The Portable Nietzsche. New York: Penguin, 1976. 103-339. Print.
____. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs. Trans. Kaufmann,
Dr. Gregory Polakoff
Humanities 345-101-MQ sect.52
12 November 2014
Artificial Meaning
Existentialism dwells on the concept of absurdity in life. It focuses on the conflict between the constant and intense search for meaning and the inability to find it. Existentialism also admits that the world is dominated by pain, frustration, sickness, contempt, malaise and death. (Barnes 1962) This is the main ideology behind Jean-Paul Sartre’s work, “Existentialist Ethics”. The existentialist ideology began to flourish during the Second World War. However, the existential system of thought can be traced back to earlier thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. Who is a German philosopher and considered as one of the most provocative and influential thinkers of the late nineteenth century who challenged the foundations of Christianity. (Robert Wicks, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Nietzsche 's philosophy is that ' 'God is dead ' ' and he calls for a ' 'revaluation of all values ' ' in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both Nietzsche and Sartre are atheistic existentialists and agree that “God is dead”, and that human beings must take responsibility for their own actions. The philosophers have a lot of parallels between their thought, and also many differences. The purpose of the final essay is to show that although Nietzsche and Sartre are atheist philosophers, they have different interpretations of the death of God. The paper will also examine how both thinkers share a similar understanding of human freedom and the meaning of life.
List of Works Cited
Barnes, H. E. (1962). Humanistic Existentialism and Contemporary Psychoanalysis, in Kern, E. (ed.) A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N. J: Prentice-Hall.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Trans. Kaufmann, Walter. The Portable Nietzsche. New York: Penguin, 1976. 103-339. Print.
____. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs. Trans. Kaufmann,
Cited: Barnes, H. E. (1962). Humanistic Existentialism and Contemporary Psychoanalysis, in Kern, E. (ed.) A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N. J: Prentice-Hall. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Trans. Kaufmann, Walter. The Portable Nietzsche. New York: Penguin, 1976. 103-339. Print. ____. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs. Trans. Kaufmann, Walter. New York: Vintage–Random House, 1974. Print.