An Overview of Existentialism

【摘要】Hussel proposed entirely new starting points and methods: primary reduction category and transcendental reduction. Primary reduction meant going bake to things themselv...

Abstract: Existentialism is an influential philosophical thought and movement flourished between World War One and 1970s, mainly in Germany and France. It emphasizes the unique and particular in human experience. This paper intends to provide an overview of its development and philosophies at different stages

Key words: existentialism development philosophies

Existentialism is an influential philosophical thought and movement flourished between World War One and 1970s, mainly in Germany and France. It is the synthetic development of modern irrationalism and phenomenology originated by Hussel (German), Kierkegoard (Denmark). Its early theorists are Heidegger and Sartre. This article intends to provide an overview of its development and philosophies at different stages

Existentialism absorbed elements from classical subjective of R. Descartes and irrationalism of Nietsche and Bergson. It was against some parts of empirical positivism and classical Marxism and classical materialism. It had anti-reason tendency of the modern age, which regarded mental metaphysical qualities and believed that materialism split mind and matter, thought and action. As Existentialism developed from the age, all the existentialists conveyed distinct philosophies in their persistent pursuit.

First, we will tell something about Hussel’s phenomenology. In a strict sense, Hussel’s phenomenology was not fully identical to Existentialism, though it was an indeed theoretical basis. Hussel was one of the great thinkers of 20th century, exerting great influence on a great number of leading thinkers of 20th century. Phenomenology was a hundred-year-long philosophical movement with penetrating impact on philosophy, psychology, sociology, historic studies, literary criticism and other disciplines in the west. His theory was both a conception of philosophy and epistemological methodology. It cherished the genuine values of Existentialism.

Hussel proposed entirely new starting points and methods: primary reduction category and transcendental reduction. Primary reduction meant going bake to things themselves or the original logic of things, emphasizing that it was the correct way to see things themselves on the presuppositionless ground. Hussel insisted by saying, “Don’t teach us what the world is because we in it will see ourselves.” He ascribed the essence of reduction to absolute presuppositionlessness. Transcendental reduction meant to replace the general view that the world exists as an objective being or phenomena outside man’s consciousness with the view that the world doesn’t exist until man as the perceiver sees it. He emphasized lived experience so as to make man’s intuition to see things himself. To get rid of man’s natural attitude, he suggested “epoch”(the suspension of judgment or the refusal to adapt a judgment or belief when the necessary knowledge was not attained) as an important means. Hussel identified three worlds: the conceptual world of philosophy and science; the world of pure consciousness and ego; and the life based on praxis, original experience. His concept of the life world also expressed the same idea of immediacy of experience and his innovative theory with philosophical profundity cast a major influence on other new thoughts and movements.

In addition, Heidegger and Sartre were regarded as two founders of Existentialism with Phenomenology as its theoretical basis.

Heidegger was devoted to his system of fundamental ontology with phenomenological method to replace traditional ontology. His best work Being and Time wrapped up his whole concept about being, its essence, structure and significance. During the second period, he made a turn in his research, he began to question about the connection between the truth and the language. He believed that language should be the expression of the truth and home of being. His new thought was recorded in On the Essence of Truth and Approach to Language. Heidegger started from criticizing classical dualistic philosophy and tried to ay bare the mistake of old tradition, the assumption of being as physical and spiritual being. In his view, the traditional philosophers ascertained the alleged essence of the existent (the people who experience existence) before studying existence. Heidegger affirmed that being or existence must come before existent because existence was what defined and decided the existent. Existence preceded the existent. “Existence is prior to essence.” “Phenomena itself is its essence.” His existentialist ontology was also an attempt to build a philosophy without presuppositions in the light of Phenomenology. He called the traditional metaphysics static study of being and preferred dynamic process of being. He devalued old metaphysical tradition that studies existence as a philosophy of oblivion of being.

Sartre was also the founder of Existentialism. He, in particular, insisted upon the notion of the individual as the source of all value, and as being obliged to choose for himself what to do and what standards to adopt or reject. He was a writer, playwright, social critic, social activist, existentialist, philosopher, and most influential supporter of the leftist student movement. He gave vivid expression of his existentialist theory in the literary form of play and fiction, which made available his abstract existentialism into the public and more adaptable to the modern mood of establishing individual freedom and esteem. His theory was ontology, and ethical significance wit two major strands of thoughts: ontology and humanism. His thought was largely derived from phenomenology and accepted the notions of phenomenological monism. Mind and matter were reduced to the same ultimate essence of being. He confirmed that phenomena was being and the directly-manifested essence since there was no any other essence behind that phenomena or phenomenon was not what stood different from its essence. According to him, being-in-itself was the nonconsciousness, objective self-presence, while being-for-itself was the intentional consciousness borrowed-being. Sartre summarized being-in-itself as being was self-presence. He was dialectical to say that was static and dynamic self-creative, and self-progressive activity. In this sense, Sartre’s existentialism was called existentialist materialism. So he was an ontological analysis of being and was regarded as the negative dialectics by some western theorists.

Ethically, unlike most German philosophers, Sartre’s philosophy was highly moral and anthropological. He focused on being. He had reasons to identify his existentialism with humanism. And his ontological study of being was also his ethical work exploring the meaning and value of its being. The highlight point of his existentialist humanism was man’s duty of self-determination and his inescapable freedom of choice. According to Sartre, freedom was fundamental and self-present in man’s being for itself. Freedom of action was being itself. Since man was always making choice between choosing and not choosing. No choosing was also a certain choice. When existence was prior to essence, freedom of choice and of action, as a means of existence, decided the essence of man. Each one of us made the kind of life he wished to live and the kind of man he wished to be. His radical view of freedom based on man’s subjective, initiative was approved as philosophy of action. His slogan “hell is other people” aroused controversy. Sartre’s absolute freedom was solipsist and the self-centered tendency regarded oneself as the perceiver watching others as passive objects. He wrongly described man and relationship as the relationship between master and slave. He believed that in such a relationship, each one side repelled others as passive inert beings like slaves. In order to remove a bit such pessimistic and dehumanizing state, Sartre gave the world some relief with a better proposal of building the all for one and one for all relationship between people.

Existentialism insists on humanistic ontological studies of the meaning of life as a philosophical basis and adopted phenomenological principles as its core and methodology in its discussion of human existence. It places the individual person at the center of the pictures of the world and is suspicious of philosophical and psychological doctrines, believing that each man is what he chooses to be or makes himself and stressing on man’s transcendental possibility to create ideal being in an ordinary world. As an individual, each man cannot escape responsibility for his character or his deeds by claiming that they are the predetermined consequence of factors beyond his power to control or resist, nor can he justify what he does in terms of external or objective standards imposed upon him.

References

[1]Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, Washington: Washington Square Press, 1943.

[2]Heidegger, Being and Time, New York: State University of New York Press, 1996,

translated by Joan Stambaugh.