Kierkegaard and Sartre

Existentialism

Soren Kierkegaard * Hegel’s Philosophy * Forgot about existence * Makes choices and establishes * “Personal commitment” * “Truth is subjectivity.” * “Thinks existentially”

Existence – reserved for the individual human being.

To exist – an individual who strives, who considers alternatives, who chooses, who decides, and who, above all, makes a commitment.

“Think in existence” – to recognize that one is faced with personal choices.

Actors vs. Spectators
Actors
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Spectators
- * A person who is engaged in conscious activity is said to exist.

The Three Stages * Sharp contrast to Hegel’s theory of the gradual development of a person’s self-consciousness * Movement of the self from one level of existence through an act of will, an act of choice * Progressive actualization of the individual * Overcomes the antithesis by the act of personal commitment * “Religious self” – completes his individuality

I. Atheistic Stage: “Hedonism” * “Anxiety” * “Routine” * Man can’t seem to be his real self II. Ethical Stage: “Moral Life” * Social obligation * Man can’t seem to find happiness * “Anxiety” * Human beings are imperfect * “Guilt” III. Religious Stage: “Personal Faith” * “Leap of faith” * “Anxiety” * “Doubt” * Objective uncertainty * Diversity

Jean Paul Sarté * Café Philosopher * Café – What happens in a café, correlates with human life * Wrote, “Being and Nothingness”, “Existentialism as a Humanism”, “No Exit”, “Nausea”, “The Words”

Being and Nothingness (2 Regions of Being) 1. “Being in itself” (“En soi”) * not conscious * not free 2. “Being for itself” (“Pour soi”) * Conscious being * Has freedom * Is conscious -> Existence of man

Traits of Man as a Conscious Being 1. Has consciousness and self consciousness 2. Has the power of nothingness
Nothingness
* Absence of things * Failed expectations

* Absence of Pierre in the café -> example of nothingess * Its existence (Café) is meaningless 3. Man is free and self-determining * “Existence precedes essence” * “Man is nothing but what he makes of himself.” * Sartre says, “there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom!” * Situations do not determine man’s life, but we determine situations through our decisions/ choices that we make.

“On Facticity” * The facts of our lives
(i.e. crisis, situations, educations, the conditions of our environment, genetic structure, culture, etc.)

Freedom * Allows us to change * “Man is condemned to be free!” * As long as man is alive, man is not free from his freedom.” * Man was not given the choice to be born * Human freedom is inescapable * Each and every moment of our lives, we are free! 4. “Man has total freedom and “Responsibility” * “With great power comes great responsibility.” - * “With great power comes great consequences.” – Jumper 5. Man’s total responsibility involves “anxiety” * Not sure of accepting the outcomes of his decisions 6. Escapes into “Bad Faith”
Bad Faith * Escapes the consequences of his decisions * Bad faith is a lie to oneself * “excuses” * inevitable