Existentialism was the brainchild of men who didn’t want the name attached to them. The movement has fuzzy origins, but generally, the end of WWII marks the beginning. Jean-Paul Sartre claimed the emerging ideas of ‘experience all things from the first-person perspective’ slowly organized under Existentialism. Soon, philosophers from Soren Kierkegaard up through Martin Heidegger, and famously Albert Camus, captured the essence of the human being through their art, novels, and movies.
Research:
First, before starting this portion of the journal entry, be sure to fully explore the origins of the French movement called Existentialism. Briefly stated, this is a look into how you exist in the world as an authentic human being. An ‘authentic’ being is the key phrase here. Research and explore what are means to “Exist before the Essence of the self is established, as opposed to establishing your essence before birth. It’s complicated it will take some mental horse power to understand. .
Questions:
Type out your responses directly after the questions.
1. Look at the picture ‘Axe Tree by Vladimir Kush’, which one are you, the axe or the tree, or both. Explain.a. Answer the question here
2. The “Standard view of the world” given to us by popular society vs “our personal alternative view of the world” is a common Existential comparison by Sartre in the lecture. What do you think is the “Standard view of the world” as seen by three different regions of the global? Then, compare that to “your alternative view of the world”?
3. The Existentialism demands you review your place in the world, are you are being in the world, or are ‘you’ nothingness? Explain how you are not just another object?a. Answer the question here
4. Existentialists and Black Mirror paint the nature of man as “a canorous, ignorant, savage beast looking to satisfy its desires.” Do you agree or disagree? Give examples.