Existentialism in Queston

                                       Existentialism in Question

Existentialism is defined as “a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will”. In a broader perspective, the theory of existentialism takes away the ability of people to blame their actions on outside forces such as God, religion, personal values etc. In a sense, every person on Earth is born with free will to do as they please whether it be for the best of society or the worst. “Man is nothing else that but which he makes of himself” (Kauffman 291). This quote can be interpreted as referring to the fact that all men are born with free will and the ability to make choices whether they lead to his success or demise. The individuality that each human on Earth is born with is either something one capitalizes on or is lost in the journey of life. Many times, in life people would rather aspire to be like someone else rather than act upon their individuality and be defined as a person that is like no other. Most people that walk this Earth place more emphasis in just “fitting in with the crowd” than they do on expanding their own individuality. Individuality and the notion of a person’s free will are directly related to the theory of “existentialism”.

“The slogan of existentialism can be coined as existence comes before essence”. This can be interpreted to mean that the physical existence of a person comes prior to the journey of discovering themselves and who they are or even the creation of a false identity for one’s self. Existentialist frequently clash with religion or any individual or society that attempts to impose its beliefs and values onto others. According to existentialists this would result in “the loss of the “individual” and essentially takes away the free will that we are born with.  A historical example of this would-be Hitler and the Nazi’s, with Hitler being the authoritarian dictator that he was many of his Nazi soldiers conformed to his crooked beliefs and values strictly out of fear of the repercussions. This type of control over people is generally based on fear and can even be seen in many of the most popular religions. Most religions often set forth certain rules and values that a follower must abide by or else they are threatened with the thought of burning eternally in hell or having bad karma in the next life. It can be said that most religious people begin to lose more of their individuality and free will as they delve deeper into their faith. The more closely a religion is followed the more rules and morals one will be required to live by, which essentially results in the loss of one’s free will. No longer will a religious person act upon free will as most likely that would require them to disregard the morals and guidelines set forth for them by their religious faith. 

“Existentialism is not atheist in the sense that it would exhaust itself in demonstrations of the non-existence of God. It declares rather, that even if God existed it would make no difference from its point of view. Not that we believe God exists, but we think that the real problem is not of His existence; what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself, not even a valid proof of the existence of God” (Kauffman 311). This in a way quote can be interpreted in a way that has various meanings. The first two sentences of the quote serve to demonstrate the position of most existentialists on the topic of God. Existentialists don’t necessarily concern themselves with proving that God doesn’t exist, but rather the fact that even if God does exist it has no impact on the theory of existentialism. The next two sentences take a more direct approach on the topic of God and how it is related to the free will of a man. This part of the quote alludes to the fact that the free will of man is something that can be used for good but also for evil. I agree with this quote for various reasons. One reason being that many times sick and cruel acts are committed in the name of God. These acts in fact have nothing to do with God, but they are directly correlated with the free will of man being used for evil purposes. Many times, people will use God as a fallback for blame for savage acts that they have committed. An historical example of this occurred an innumerable amount of times in America with a group known as the KU Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan are a white Christian terrorist organization that terrorized and brutally murdered many blacks in the south from the late 1880’s to around the 1980’s. One of the most famous symbols of the Ku Klux Klan was in fact a burning cross. On numerous occasions after committing savage acts KKK members could be quoted as saying “justice was served in Jesus name” or “this was done in the name of Christ”. These quotes serve as direct historical examples of how people use God or their religion as a reason for committing savage acts. This only serves to prove existentialists correct as they believe that it is the free will of man that people must be saved from and not the God that they fear.