“The Stranger”
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“a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement
embracing diverse doctrines but centering on
analysis of individual existence in an
unfathomable universe and the plight of the
individual who must assume ultimate
responsibility for acts of free will without any
certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or
good or bad”
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“Existence precedes essence” –Kierkegaard
 Individual personalities are molded through
confrontations of reality and choices made
 The identity of one person cannot be found
by examining what other people are like, but
only through what that person has done
Focuses on free will and personal responsibility
Human nature is decided through life choices,
not by the ways of society
Worldly desire is futile
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Existentialism is the questioning of what the ultimate
purpose of life is
There is no universal right or wrong in the world
(“bad things happen to good people” and viceversa); since there is no logic to this, existentialists
are led to believe that life in the world we live in is
meaningless
There is no such thing as fate or destiny; man must
make his own way
Existentialists are realists who accept the
meaninglessness of life and strive to give their life a
meaning of its own (creating their own purpose in
life)
"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into
the world, he is responsible for everything he does.“ –Jean
Paul Sartre
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Most popular in France during WWII:
 The oppressive government system under
the Nazis and the need for resistance provided
the perfect background for Existentialism’s
focus on individual action and responsibility
However, the existentialist movement began
much earlier (Nietzsche proclaimed “God is
dead” in the 1880s)
It led to the composition of literary works that
discussed ideas of loneliness, isolation, and a
fear of the uncaring universe
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Heidegger – Choices and resulting actions define the self;
each choice is a pivotal point in one’s life, each
contributing to the larger definition of self (no matter
how trivial the choice may be); an individual thinks
about a creation and its purpose before it exists
Nietzsche – Proclaimed “God is dead,” so men should
use their dominance; idea that men must accept fact that
they’re part of a material world, no matter what else
might exist; must live as if there’s nothing else beyond
life; failure to live & take risks = failure to realize human
potential
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Nihilism- complete disregard for all things that cannot be proven
or demonstrated scientifically
Hegel – (Not an existentialist, but his ideas paved the
way for existential theology) Believed that if the ends are
noble, the means are justified; a man can do whatever it
takes to prove a point if it is going to advance civilization
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Martin Buber – Faith was about personal commitments
to the Creator; having faith means actively defining
yourself (engaging in acts of faith); this resembles the
active self-definition ideas that surround existentialism;
Buber also questioned whether science failed to help
humanity find meaning
Soren Kierkegaard – Father of Christian Existentialism,
said “I believe, therefore I am,” and believes that we live
merely for the sake of living; life is subjective and
ambiguous; must live in truth before God to achieve full
unity of purpose
Gabriel Marcel – Offered possibility of “communion,”
where two people can understand each other’s
subjectivity, or free will; a human thinker eager to act
and learn for themselves cannot exist in a technologically
advancing, scientific world
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Camus’ definition: when a person’s “consciousness,”
longing for order, collides with “the other’s” lack of
order, a third element is born – absurdity.
It is basically the conflict between the natural human
desire to seek meaning in life and the inability to find
it; this is an impossible feat, therefore making it quite
“absurd”
Unlike existentialism, an absurdist believes there
may be meaning, but humans will never know it.
Emphasizes certainty of death
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Sartre – famous existentialist; spoke on the
absurd, saying that “the absurdity of human
existence is the necessary result of our attempts
to live a life of meaning and purpose in an
indifferent, uncaring universe”
The Absurd Hero:
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The Myth of Sisyphus (we’ll read this later in the
week)
 Rejects the supernatural
 Believes life has value
 Considers death to be the most contradictory part of life