Essays on Existentialism

Philosophers and Controversial Concepts Philosophers provided several explanations to events and phenomena that could not get an immediate explanation by the common man. The concepts of freedom, good life and becoming a good person in the society was highly controversial since people could not agree on their meanings to life. For...

Existentialism and essence are quite dissimilar in their explanation of human behavior. Existentialism insinuates that man determines fellow men's perception of his character and beliefs based on his attitude towards societal beliefs and activities. Young counters the argument citing the differences in feminism to nature. Essentialism allows individuals to base...

Jean-Paul Sartre primary aim is to advance arguments in defense of existentialism as humanism and address several counter-arguments from critiques. Some of the reproaches of existentialism are that it not only makes people dwell in despair but also considers humanity in isolation and denies the seriousness and reality of human...

The basis of existentialism is the assumption that human beings are influenced by their past, present and future which affect their actions and being and that they are not predetermined (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). People usually have different degrees of freedom. However, different factors such as perceived boundaries, physical, emotional and...

Nihilism, which is also called the zero point, means a complete denial of any religion or philosophy that persists in the world. On the contrary, existentialism is an answer to nihilism; it represents a freedom of will in finding motives of oneself and its meaning in life, which can vary...

Sayre's Claim: "Existence Precedes Essence" Sayre claims that "existence precedes essence". The statement means that human beings have no defined form of existence. Human beings define themselves depending on the lives they live. The lives we live determine who we are but not any set of characteristics such as socioeconomic factors...

Existentialism in Notes from the Underground Existentialism is a philosophical idea that holds that each individual is ultimately accountable for their existence. According to this theory, people spend their entire lives trying to find and alter their essence. Because they possess free will, humans use their decisions to define...

The Hostility between Jews and Anti-Semites The hostility between Jews and anti-Semites can be easily traced back to those groups that reject the good faith in favor of the ill faith. Anti-Semites devote their efforts and resources to opposing the Jewish religion and everything it stands for. They consider the Jewish...

Oppression and Identity Crisis in Native American Communities Even if existentialism was at its height more than 50 years ago, minorities now face oppression on a variety of fronts that keeps them from making decisions that define who they are. Due to social unrest, poverty, and the loss of their traditional...

The classic phenomenology known as existentialism founded by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and other philosopher. The theory of existentialism stresses choice, equality and the life of individuals. While people live in an irrational world, rational choices are required to be made for determining their own significance of existence. Existentialism also states...