FIVE BASIC THEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM

FIVE BASIC THEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM

Five important themes in existentialism are:

1) Facticity (Factical Thrownness)

Facticity is an existential theme which means that human beings are already in a given situation and circumstances; that human beings operate within certain defined limits, within a limited horizon. It consists in saying that human beings are thrown into existence, and not responsible for their coming into being. They do not choose to be born, but simply find themselves thrown into the world in circumstances and situations that are not their own making. Although by provenance, the term facticity was first used by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, in the field of existentialism, it is traceable first to the exponent, Marin Heidegger. For Heidegger, facticity means that there are certain already givens of human existence about which man can do nothing, but which man should appropriate for the authentication of his life. Hence, facticity is the limiting conditions of human existence. Jean-Paul Sartre is another exponent of this theme. Facticity is demonstrated in his submission of human freedom which is both factical and limited. Man, according to him, is not free to be free; he is condemned to be free. As such, he is factically thrown and condemned to be free. This freedom, Sartre opines is demonstrated in his ability to choose. But, man cannot choose all things at the same time. His freedom of choice is limited by other choices. One cannot choose to be a bachelor and a husband at the same time; or a male and female at the same time.

            The philosophical relevance here consists in the fact that it is vain to complain or protests about already and unchangeable givens. It is in man’s best interest, Heidegger avers, to accept the already givens, and appropriate them for the authentication of his life. The acceptance of these, is a cardinal proof of maturity and the right step towards the achievement of authenticity.

2) Absurdity

Absurdity means that life makes no sense, devoid of meaning or ultimate purpose. This idea is a common theme in many existentialist works, particularly in Albert Camus. Absurdity is the notion of contrast between two things. As Camus explains it in The Myth of Sisyphus: “The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.” This view, which is shared by Sartre, is that humanity must live in a world that is and will forever be hostile or indifferent towards them. The universe will never truly care for humanity the way we seem to want it to. This then made Camus, in The Myth of Sisyphus, to describe suicide as the most appropriate and rational reaction to the absurd.

As to its philosophical relevance, the theme of absurdity leads to the unearthing of a certain knowledge. Namely, while exposing the negative sides of human existence, which sometimes calls for sober agony, absurdity encourages us to seek meaning out of the somewhat absurd state of life. Absurdity sees meaninglessness in the world, but, only a world that is meaningful can even be described as meaningless. Yes, after our whole life struggles, we will still end in 6 feet beneath the ground. That is a reality that seems to presents this life as meaningless. But then, taking into account the meaningfulness of posterity and recognizing that there are benefits we enjoy which would not have been possible without people who struggled to make out meaning, we are encouraged to look beyond the absurd, and make out meaning from the seeming absurd.

3) Alienation

This is the alienation and the estrangement of the self both from the world and from itself. In the first place, we are alienated from the world. Though it is through one’s projects that the world takes on meaning, the world itself is not brought into being through one’s projects; it retains its otherness and thus can come forth as utterly alien, as unheimlich. Alienation has its provenance in Heidegger and points, instead, to the strangeness of a world in which one precisely does not feel “at home.” Thus, we are alienated from the world.

In the second place, the world includes other people, and as a consequence I am not merely the revealer of the world but something revealed in the projects of those others. Thus who I am is not merely a function of my own projects, but is also a matter of my “being-for-others.” Here, alienation arises within the family, between parents and children, between the husband and the wife, between the children. Alienation affects all social and work relations, and most cruelly, alienation dominates the relationship of love. Sartre brings out this form of alienation in his famous analysis of “the Look.”

The philosophical relevance of this theme is hinged on the fact that it helps us to re-evaluate ourselves and the work of our hands. What makes us not to feel at home with the world and with others? Is it the institutionalized poverty and sickness or the estranging power of technology? The human condition of alienation is rectifiable by the human person. Alienation is a product of man, and is also rectifiable by man.

4) Death

Death is an existential theme that is an inescapable reality of life. A central exponent here, is Heidegger who avers that at the moments of death, the whole of my being seems to drift away into nothing. The unaware person tries to live as if death is not actual, he tries to escape its reality. But Heidegger says that my death is my most authentic, significant moment, my personal potentiality, which I alone must suffer. And if I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life-- and only then will I be free to become myself. But here the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre begs to differ. What is death, he asks? Death is my total nonexistence. Death is as absurd as birth-- it is no ultimate, authentic moment of my life, it is nothing but the wiping out of my existence as conscious being. Death is only another witness to the absurdity of human existence.

The philosophical relevance here is that, as absurd as death maybe, it becomes less absurd or even not absurd at all, when we do the needful of taking into cognizance its reality, and working towards actualizing our potentials before death, making us die joyfully and happily. No matter how we try, we cannot avoid it, but we can make it joyful and glorious.

5) Authenticity

In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character, despite external pressures; the conscious self is seen as coming to terms with being in a material world and with encountering external forces, pressures, and influences which are very different from, and other than, itself. A lack of authenticity is considered in existentialism to be bad faith.

A central exponent is Sartre who avers that to exist authentically is therefore a challenge. It is to live with the realization that our freedom is boundless and we have no option but to make individual choices. In the absence of transcendental norms and guidelines, it is bound to encounter anguish and we have to accept this as a fact. It is part of our existential situation. We have to act based on the choices we make and should not blame external factors or circumstances. We have to take responsibility for choosing them as we are free. Authenticity, according to Kierkegaard, is reliant on an individual finding authentic faith and becoming true to oneself. His conviction lies with the idea that mass-culture creates a loss of individual significance, which he refers to as “levelling.” Kierkegaard views the media as supporting a society that does not form its own opinions but utilizes the opinions constructed by the news. The goal of Kierkegaard’s existentialist philosophy is to show that, in order to achieve authenticity, one must face reality and form his own opinions of existence.

The philosophical relevance here is based on the fact that our world is bedevilled by a certain of form of collectivism and mass-mentality that is symptomatic of inauthentic living. Authenticity, then, is the capacity for self-assertion amidst external influences. For Sartre, there is no determined essence, define it for yourself. For Kiergaard, face reality and form your own opinions. This a clarion call to a world of the scarcity of sagacity; a world where it is a crime to think but legitimate to sheepishly follow and swallow the status quo.