Existentialism & Self Identity

Topic: Existentialism & Self Identity

Chairman:
Mary Kennedy

Moderator:
Spencer Sinclaire

Meetup Date:
Wednesday, January 7th. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with a 15 minute break at 8:00 p.m.

Meetup Location:
Upstairs at The Bent Mast, 512 Simcoe St. Victoria, BC, V8V 1L8

Members:
If you plan to attend, please take a moment and RSVP. If your plans change and you cannot attend, to the right of your name there are three dots, please click on them and move yourself to “Not Going.” Thank you.

Quotes:
"I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it." ~ Steven Wright

"What we know matters but who we are matters more." ~ Brené Brown

Synopsis:
Existentialism, a philosophy centered on individual existence and freedom, traces its roots to the 19th-century thinkers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Though differing significantly in their approaches, both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche emphasized the importance of individual authenticity in a world increasingly devoid of traditional meaning. The idea of the self emerges from this rejection of pre-determined values and a call to confront the singularity of one’s existence, ultimately leading to the creation of one’s own values and meaning. The individual self will become the ultimate source of meaning and value in a world increasingly stripped of traditional structures of authority. What is astounding is that this is a wholly modern idea, that of the individual self, no such thing exists in the ancient world or in periods preceding modernity. Existentialism is just one lens through which we can see this emergence.

Existentialist thinkers insist on the irreducible nature of subjectivity while also considering critically the nature of the self. While Kierkegaard affirms an inward self, Heidegger and the phenomenologically inspired existentialists describe the self as always outside itself, extended in its interactions with the world. While Sartre may vigorously defend the self’s intrinsic autonomy, other existentialists, including Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and Beauvoir, paint a more ambiguous picture of freedom.

Existentialism refers to a branch of philosophy, which focuses on the individual and emphasizes process. It also places a great emphasis upon how people live their lives, and not the nature of their existence. Even though existentialism is arguably ancient in inception, it naturally comes face-to-face with timeless issues such as freedom, humanism and ethics. Existentialism offers the potential for an ethics of freedom without subsequent nihilism. Case analyses, which are rooted in an existential approach, are interested in the freedoms and choices of individuals, with a view toward understanding individuals' authenticity. The denial of destiny that is part of existentialism means that responsibility and an ethics of freedom will be at the heart of any case analysis that uses existentialism as a methodology.

Existentialism is concentrated upon the one-by-one, and is routinely glimpsed as being a humanist pursuit. Furthermore, the philosophy is involved in how persons live, not what their reality is comprised of. The existentialist contends that, through our environment as beings of alternative, reality precedes essence. In other phrases, we conceive us through our choices.

Watch:
Watch "How to FIND Your REAL SELF: SOREN KIERKEGAARD (Existentialism)" on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/_rAkqP51gsM?si=_stgbtpOL5SYSzXM