Comments on: Suffocating Existentialism http://www.blog.joelx.com/suffocating-existentialism/3361/ The best online marketing blog by Joel Gross Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:53:13 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Joel http://www.blog.joelx.com/suffocating-existentialism/3361/comment-page-1/#comment-25985 Joel Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:06:15 +0000 http://www.blog.joelx.com/?p=3361#comment-25985 Plato, Thank you for your well-reasoned and interesting insight into existentialism and absurdism. Plato,

Thank you for your well-reasoned and interesting insight into existentialism and absurdism.

]]> By: Plato http://www.blog.joelx.com/suffocating-existentialism/3361/comment-page-1/#comment-25975 Plato Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:40:14 +0000 http://www.blog.joelx.com/?p=3361#comment-25975 I think you have misunderstood existentialism and should do some more reading on the subject before dismissing it as fundamentally flawed. The central notion is not that everything is inherently meaningless, that philosophy is nihilism, existentialists argue that, through choice and action, each individual creates value and meaning in their personal experience. You are free, under existentialist thought, to choose to subscribe to certain values, or to not, and by doing either you may define what is meaningful to you, and that meaning may change as you grow as a person. This philosophy was formulated in opposition to the old idea that there is a fundamental truth to everything and as such everything has an 'essence' or correct way of being. Based on our discussions of the 'spark' I understand why you find the idea that there is no absolute pre-defined order to everything unsettling. But I urge you to consider the notion that, an order which defines and redefines itself is as valid as an order handed down by some 'creator.' "The Stranger" is an exploration of 'absurdism' which is a facet of existentialism noting that it doesn't really matter what course a person chooses because courses in and of themselves do not have meaning, i.e. there is no correct way to exist. It is the opposite of 'rationalism' or the idea that one can sit down and by pure reason arrive at the proper understanding of everything. The central character of the stranger is a hyperbolic example of an individual who chooses none of society's recognized values and is as such indifferent to having everything a "normal" person would want or having it all taken away. He is a "Stranger." The basic idea behind all of it is that, humans decide, on an individual basis, what it means to each of them to be human. Even someone who chooses to accept every societal notion they encounter without thought is making a choice. And as you point out most people make choices that appear, at least on the surface, to be very similar. A person may choose that meaning lies in economic success or a person may choose that meaning lies in expressing emotion through dance. An existentialist would say that they're both right. Existentialists don't deny that there is an order in the universe that can be observed, all they suggest is that we can and do define our place in it. I think you have misunderstood existentialism and should do some more reading on the subject before dismissing it as fundamentally flawed. The central notion is not that everything is inherently meaningless, that philosophy is nihilism, existentialists argue that, through choice and action, each individual creates value and meaning in their personal experience.

You are free, under existentialist thought, to choose to subscribe to certain values, or to not, and by doing either you may define what is meaningful to you, and that meaning may change as you grow as a person. This philosophy was formulated in opposition to the old idea that there is a fundamental truth to everything and as such everything has an ‘essence’ or correct way of being. Based on our discussions of the ’spark’ I understand why you find the idea that there is no absolute pre-defined order to everything unsettling. But I urge you to consider the notion that, an order which defines and redefines itself is as valid as an order handed down by some ‘creator.’

“The Stranger” is an exploration of ‘absurdism’ which is a facet of existentialism noting that it doesn’t really matter what course a person chooses because courses in and of themselves do not have meaning, i.e. there is no correct way to exist. It is the opposite of ‘rationalism’ or the idea that one can sit down and by pure reason arrive at the proper understanding of everything.
The central character of the stranger is a hyperbolic example of an individual who chooses none of society’s recognized values and is as such indifferent to having everything a “normal” person would want or having it all taken away. He is a “Stranger.”

The basic idea behind all of it is that, humans decide, on an individual basis, what it means to each of them to be human. Even someone who chooses to accept every societal notion they encounter without thought is making a choice. And as you point out most people make choices that appear, at least on the surface, to be very similar. A person may choose that meaning lies in economic success or a person may choose that meaning lies in expressing emotion through dance. An existentialist would say that they’re both right.

Existentialists don’t deny that there is an order in the universe that can be observed, all they suggest is that we can and do define our place in it.

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