Existentialism (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what existentialism is and what its representatives and authors are. Also, its general characteristics and impact on art.

What is existentialism?

Existentialism is a philosophical movement of the 20th century which includes different contemporary thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger and Gabriel Marcel. All of them, despite their divergences, aim to understand existence as that which makes the essence of man in its own uniqueness. This means (and it is one of the most famous maxims of existentialism) that existence precedes essence, not the other way around.

The foundations of existentialism can be traced to the works of Kierkegaard —considered the father of the movement— on anguish, and also (although to a lesser extent) on the Nietzschean break with traditional metaphysics. Since its appearance, existentialism has significantly influenced many disciplines. This influence can be observed in literature, mainly in authors such as Albert Camus, Emil Cioran, Miguel de Unamuno, Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, among others.

Origin and history of existentialism

Most philosophers agree in putting Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) as a starting point for existentialism. Although it is true that the first to use the term was Jean-Paul Sartre, Kierkegaard opposed Hegelian idealism and delved into different elements taken up by the existentialist current such as anguish and loneliness. There are also points in common with the pessimism of Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and some novels of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881).

However, Existentialism as a philosophical current was born strictly in the 20th century. After the First World War, already halfway to the second, Europe was plagued by a deep ethical and religious crisis. The violence and death observed at the beginning of the century left the majority of society in a state of skepticism and distrust regarding the dominant values until then. From this discontent, and as a reaction to different current philosophical traditions, existentialism was born, understood as a set of theoretical works that sought to popularize and unravel questions oriented to the meaning of freedom, nothingness, responsibility and the absurd.

After World War II, existentialism It became a very important philosophical and cultural movement. The works of Sartre and Albert Camus, like the works of Gabriel Marcel, became a bestseller, as well as the reading of Being and timeby Martin Heidegger, outside Germany. Books like The nausea, the wall and Being and nothingnessby Sartre, and The foreigner and The plagueby Camus, circulated throughout much of the Western world.

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Sartre's lecture, “existentialism is a humanism,” set a precedent in European philosophical and cultural history: Jean-Paul Sartre, father and face of the existentialist movementdefined and defended the ideas that characterized him in a public conference at the Maintenant club.

From the time The works of Simone de Beauvoir are important, beyond Sartre and Camus (who rejected the nickname “existentialist”). The second sex It is a monumental work that integrates existentialist issues with concerns and problems of other forms of thought, such as, for example, the feminist struggle and the role of women. Also worth mentioning is the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, phenomenologist and, for a brief period, friend of Sartre. His best-known book, and considered existentialist phenomenology, was titled Phenomenology of perception.

Existentialist concepts

Existence precedes essence

The idea that existence precedes essence It is one of the most important points of existentialism. At his conference Existentialism is a humanismJean-Paul Sartre explains this idea with the image of a letter opener. While an artisan produces a letter opener already knowing what he is going to use it for, and therefore, knowing that its essence precedes its existence, the human being originates in a different way.

Sartre maintains that if there were a creator God, he would contain in his divine mind the essence of man even before he existed, just as happened with the craftsman and the letter opener. However, by declaring that God does not exist, the human being is necessarily that being in which existence precedes its essence, since it exists before it can be defined by any concept.

Sartre maintains that man begins by existing, emerges in the world, and then defines himself.. Man begins by being nothing and only by being, a posteriori, is that he is built as a project whose essence he must define for himself. For atheistic existentialism there is no human nature because there is no God to define it.

Choice, freedom, responsibility

As a free being, each human being is responsible for his or her actions.. When existentialism talks about subjectivity, it does so by referring to a deep sense of decision. That the human being can choose himself implies that by choosing himself he chooses all men. As a project that is already ex-sisting (that is, as a project already launched into the world), man defines himself with each of his decisions. This implies that in each decision, he is choosing what he considers the man should be. In that sense, when you choose, when you choose a way of behaving in front of others, you are choosing how you believe all men should behave.

Existentialist schools

It is difficult to define precisely which authors or thinkers strictly belong to existentialism. It is considered that there were two great schools or currents of existentialism, and Their classification is given according to the position they have adopted regarding the idea of God.: atheistic and Christian existentialism. However, and in relation to this same point, some contemporary authors maintain that there is a third existentialist school: agnostic existentialism, represented by Albert Camus.

atheistic existentialism. He proposes the nonexistence of God and uses this statement as a basis to support that existence precedes essence. Jean-Paul Sartre is its greatest representative.
Christian existentialism. It proposes that God exists and is based on the ideas postulated by Kierkegaard. Its main representatives are Gabriel Marcel, Miguel de Unamuno and Karl Jaspers.
agnostic existentialism. He proposes that the existence or not of God is irrelevant to the development of existentialism. Albert Camus is one of its best-known representatives.

Representatives and authors of existentialism

Some of the most important representatives of existentialism are:

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). French philosopher, writer and novelist. He rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, opposing institutions that sought to mediate between man and culture. His most important works are Being and nothingness, The nausea and The plagueamong others.
Karl Jaspers (1883-1969). German psychiatrist and philosopher. He was a benchmark of German reconstruction. In Philosophy gives an account of the history of philosophy from his point of view. His book that comes closest to a systematic philosophy is Of the truth. It also stands out Philosophy and existence.
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). German philosopher. He is one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century and of the entire history of Western philosophy. His work Being and time It marked a precedent and unavoidable turning point for the entire history of philosophy that followed and continues to this day.
Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973). French playwright and philosopher. His thought was described as Christian existentialism or personalism. His books include be and have, Metaphysical journal and From rejection to invocation.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). French philosopher, teacher and writer. She was a feminist activist who wrote novels and essays on feminism, existentialism and different political, social and philosophical problems. His best known work is The second sex.
Albert Camus (1913-1960). French novelist, playwright, essayist, philosopher and journalist. He is considered close to existentialism, although in reality his thinking is located within absurdism. This can be seen in many of his books such as The rebel man, The myth of Sisyphus, The foreigner, Caligula and The plague.

Impact of existentialism on art

existentialism It originated as a philosophical movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.. However, his relationship with art and literature was always that of a close bond. So much The Nauseaby Jean-Paul Sartre, like the works of Albert Camus, are clear examples of this. However, they are not the only ones who have written novels or plays that are existentialist or close to the movement.

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Both the novels of Franz Kafka and those of Fyodor Dostoyevsky are considered existentialist, even though they preceded the movement. Also Miguel de Unamuno's work is considered existentialist. Other authors considered existentialists are Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Stanislaw Lem and Emil Cioran. Ingmar Bergman's films, such as The seventh seal either Fanny and Alexander They are also considered existentialist artistic works. The same happens with Solarisby Andrei Tarkovsky, and The mirror either The sacrificefrom the same director.

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