I met Rob last week, been to steakhouse, PEEL, Bimbo’s (Love that lil’ creatures)…
we went talking about what I took before in Manila. I told him I was a Philo Major.
Then he told me that I should be keeping a blog (cos I’m a philosopher???)
Everybody can be a philosopher =p we are just afraid, afraid to be different.
“they laugh because i’m different, I laugh because they’re all the same!” -anonymous
“Philosophy is not a study for a job, it is a study for life” -Kadz Velasquez
“When the caveman went back to the cave, he was killed” -on Plato’s Allegory of the cave
…….. So with what Rob told me, I decided to rewrite my academic writing back when Prof. Malbarosa asked us to write a reflection paper about anything (????????????????!!).
so Rob.. read =p
AN EXISTENTIAL REFLECTION
Existentialism is a movement that stresses individual freedom. My own reflected summary from my philosophical readings includes Hegelian Existentialism which primarily discusses the significance of death to human existence. Also, I considered reflecting on Sartre’s existential accounts from some of his works like the infamous Being and Nothingness by understanding some citations from it that evidently stress human existential freedom and condition through being the consciousness of your own Being. More of what existentialism is will be discussed like its view of human nature, the Others and absolute individuality and freedom. I would like to inform you that all that are reflected here are based on my personal understanding from all that I have read.
As what I have read and thought, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel discussed the significance of death to our existence in this world. Death in this particular discourse is not only referring to the literal physical death but it also appeals to emotional and social death and most importantly, the death of existence of oneself. He mentioned that life is tantamount to death it’s just that death is another higher form of life. He also added that consciousness of death is strength because if you are conscious of death, which is the time, when you realize the consciousness of being alive or living in addition of your realization of the importance of living which is the inner strength that he is talking about. It becomes strength for the one that died realizes the love of life thus, lifting his life to a higher form of existence.
The Hegelian concept of existentialism in relation to death in my own realization is indeed psychological in nature. This means that being in consciousness of death makes you think back of what being in the consciousness of living is. My point here is that it is man’s nature to think of previous experiences. In this particular analysis, man being in the state of death makes him curious of how it feels to be conscious of living or life. I said psychological because the drive or the nature of man to think of the reciprocal consequences of its state is natural for him; it is a part of his existence.
In addition to this Hegelian concept, let me add that this Death Concept was adopted by some of his successors. Martin Heidegger did mention about man living for the sake of death. It implies that death is a fulfillment in a man’s existence. This might not be as what Hegel is trying to explain but there is a main point here that must be considered. There is something in death that is essential for existence thus, Death is significant to Existence.
I admit that I personally don’t understand the whole meaning of what is being said and explained by Hegel and Heidegger but in my understanding, a question raised in my consciousness. I am confused whether the two of them somehow contradicted their own ideas because they are both stating an essential something for the existence of man to be meaningful. I do believe that saying that we exist for the sake of dying which what Heidegger stressed is contradictory on what existentialism is because existentialism is about you existing to have an essence. How would you exist in an existentialist concept if you would consider living for the sake of death? It points out that dying is the essence of living which makes me think that Heidegger and some part of Hegel stopped being an existentialist. Again, this observation is based on what I understand and reflected on and from my readings.
Jean-Paul Sartre gave importance to individuality and Freedom. Individualism for Sartre is being alone in the world where it is and it will be only you who could understand yourself. Individual who is caged in your mind wherein all you could only see are just the Other’s outside being which you tend to view objectively according to personal experiences. Freedom was discussed as the free will to make a choice and to choose from choices. Not to make a choice or the refusal to use choices is called the Bad Faith He transmuted the ill or irresponsible use of freedom into what he calls the Bad Faith which is the failure to make a choice.
Existential Individualism or absolute individualism is focused on a principle which is one is trapped in his mind and body where all he could only rely on probably because he doesn’t have any other choices are his senses. It’s you total consciousness who really lives for you to exist. That is, the consciousness that is trapped in your body and even mind. It is where your total consciousness deals with the objective outside world subjectively.
Another is the Existential concept of Freedom. According to Sartre, is the freedom to choose among choices and to makes choices and choose among them. Freedom is needed to define oneself since it has been agreed that Existence came first and it came first for the purpose of it to be defined by the consciousness inside by using Freedom responsibly and not engaging or resorting into the so-called Bad Faith.
Based on my abovementioned reflected concept of Sartre, I want to admit that I fell in love this concept because I find it practical and highly ethical. On what grounds? I remember Sartre mentioned that “No one is innocent in an accident”. In relation to the citation, I believe that the concept of freedom and bad faith is universally true. Why? Because it is you who holds your own mind and body, you are responsible of it. In addition to that is the freedom to make choices. No one could hinder us to make choices and choose among them. We are just afraid of the consequences that may arise and don’t want to be responsible of them that’s why we don’t choose or we fail to choose. If an accident occurs, a car accident to be exact; it is impossible to say that you are totally immune from responsibility because for one you did choose to cross the street and failed to take extra care of yourself. Same also for the driver and to those who are involved. No one is immune to responsibility for oneself for we existed with it albeit instinctual. I find the concept recommendable for our present society primarily because of the fact that our society lacks self and social responsibility.
The Slogan “Existence precedes Essence” is the core of Existential human nature. It indicates that there are no essences or predetermined nature that causes and controls us on what we ought to do or to believe and other causal matters. Next is that we are totally independent from the predetermination or determination of other people outside. The view of human nature is created by the concept of oneself to itself by making choices and choosing among them. Also, Human Values are developed through those choices.
I therefore say that an existential being is a being contoured by oneself through his or her choices. It’s like a self creation by shaping oneself into a certain unique being through unique choices under unique circumstances and experiences. Self identification is also in the process of self creation. The main mistake here is when we associate ourselves outside ourselves.
xoxo Dee
is this the kind of blog yer talkin bout? =p
