Existentialism
Thrown into the world, and condemned from freedom, Existentialists believe that every action they make they will have some kind of action returned. Therefore, the person must be accountable without excuse. Existentialism is not its own philosophy but a vast world in itself. A world filled with many philosophies sharing many of the same traits. Existentialism is the world of existence. Existentialists believe that a personality will develop best if left alone. Existence consists of basically two types of being, the authentic being, and the inauthentic being. Authentic existence is contrasted with dynamic and is the being-for-itself, rising from a human being's bad faith, by which the human being moves away from the problems of responsibilities. Authentic being is basically the being of the being of the human being. The inauthentic being is the being for things. Authentic being is what the human being must strive to gain. That rarely happens because the inauthentic being is usually what they gain. The inauthentic being comes from the human being's failures. Existentialists believe that human beings have no essence, no essential self, and are no more than what he or she is. Existentialism emphasizes the risk, the voidness of human reality and admits that the human being is thrown into the world, the world in which pain, frustration, sickness, contempt, malaise, and death dominates. Existentialists need to know the reason of life. This is a basic need. Usually each, existentialist, have their own needs. Another need, which was mentioned before, is the need to have the authentic being. They want to be living in a predetermined world. Existentialism is not the greatest philosophies to get into. Being an existentialist is a large factor in becoming dysfunctional. As mentioned before they gain frustration with the great number of choices, which are given to them in the years of their life. The build up of frustration and anxiety cause them to be dysfunctional. Existentialists believe there is no essence before his or her existence. The human as a being is nothing. Existentialists are opposed to the thought that there is one creator. In substitution, they believe everyone is their own god. Yet, this is something they hate: Having freedom, having choices, and having problems. The human being hides itself from freedom by self-deception, acting like a thing, as if he is a passive subject, instead of seeing the authentic being for the human being; this is bad faith.
Existentialism, as defined by Luke Mastin, “...is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice.”(2008). There are multiple occasions in which an individual can encounter an existentialist situation without acknowledging it. For example, choosing to go to school one day or not would be considered freedom of choice, which connects with the philosophy of existentialism. In the context of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard’s theory correlates to the movie, Before I Fall directed and adapted by Ry Russo-Young from the novel written by Lauren Oliver, due to the many movie scenes that involve an existentialist moment as exemplified through the main character in relation to Kierkegaard.
Existentialism is the philosophical theory which states that a set of categories governed by authenticity are necessary to capture human existence.
Existentialism is just one of the many philosophies that attempt to determine the meaning of life. This idea that the world is meaningless developed in Europe around the time of World War II. Many writers and authors in the forties and fifties were affected by the horrors of war and this new philosophy, namely, Albert Camus. Existentialism is greatly reflected in Camus’ time period, culture, and works such as The Stranger.
Existential philosophy is subject to a single, seemingly debilitating criticism: it comprises a frame of mind rather than a theory. As Mary Warnock argues in her book Existentialist Ethics, "It seems that to be attracted by Existentialism is to be attracted by a mood. When it comes to serious thought, one may find . . . that it is necessary to cast off the mood and start again" (57). The focus of the existentialist is on the individual, existing being. By nature, the subject of existentialism appears incommunicable. It demands that each individual come to an understanding of the inwardness of self independently. This inwardness is not a state which can be achieved, but a process of constantly coming to be. The argument against the existence of an existential ideology seems valid. Without generalization, how can existentialist philosophy construct a theory that offers ethical direction?
Existentialism Existentialism is a philosophical movement that stresses individual existence. Human beings are totally free and responsible for their own actions. Another main idea of existentialism is the limitation of reason and the irreducibility of experience to any system. Man is not a detached observer of the world; rather, he "exists" in a special sense - he is "in the world." Stones, trees, and other objects do not share this existence, and man is open to the world and the objects in it.
Existentialism as a distinct philosophical and literary movement belongs to the 19th and 20th centuries. Although existentialism is impossible to define, some of its common themes can be identified. One of the major theme is the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, was the first writer to call himself existential. He wrote in his journal, "I must find a truth that is true for me . . . the idea for which I can live or die.
The clinicians that use the approach of the humanistic-existential model believe that to function properly, humans, throughout their lives, have a need to develop perceptions and beliefs about oneself and to accept and value their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regardless of the consequences (Comer, 2016, pg. 58). Humanists argue that people are born good and over the course of their lives, they seek to fulfill their potential known as self-actualization (Comer, 2016, pg. 58). Existentialists believe that human comes to this world with the ability and freedom to choose their destiny and give purpose to their lives (Comer, 2016, pg. 58). From both perspectives, practitioners consider abnormality to be rooted in childhood as a result of
Existentialism, which spread rapidly over continental Europe after the First World War, is essentially the analysis of the condition of man, of the particular state of being free, and of man's having constantly to use his freedom in order top answer the ever- changing and unexpected challenges of the day. According to the Existentialists, the starting point of every philosophical investigation is concrete human existence. That means that human personality in itself should point the way to the absolute value of reality. A single definition of existentialism is impossible. Definitions, provided by dictionaries are only part of what existentialism is about. …central to each definition is the assertion that existentialism is a theory or statement about the nature of man's existence. (1) The term is so difficult to define because, unlike other terms, existentialism is not universal. In other words, there are no two existentialists, which share exactly the same values or beliefs. Although, here is one major theme: a stress on individual existence, subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice.
In this assignment I will summarise and compare and contrast two comparative models of counselling in terms of their underlying assumptions, key concepts, interventions and therapeutic relationship. The two models I have chosen are Existential and CBT.
Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it. I can adopt the existentialist approach which states that to live life is to experience happiness and absurdness and to appreciate both as a part of life.
The Existential Approach stands for respect for the person, for exploring new aspects of human behavior, and for divergent methods of understanding people (Corey, 2013). Existentialists do not focus on instinctive drives or internalized others but on the person's unavoidable confrontation with the givens of the human condition. Yalom (1980) described those givens as death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. (Bauman, & Waldo, 1998).
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...
Existentialism is a very broad topic with no exact definition, and it has been interpreted in many different ways by various philosophers. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, existentialism is defined as “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”. Existentialism has influenced many authors works and lives, such as the novelist Hermann Hesse. A particular work by Hesse that was heavily influenced by his existentialist beliefs was his book, Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf
Existentialism is a branch of philosophy mostly concerned with the ideas of choice, meaning, and the limits of existence. Existentialism denies any form of predetermined systems, for they generally imply an external source of meaning, or power. Existentialism is often misconstrued of being nihilistic (if there is no predetermined meaning, then the world is completely meaningles...
In existentialism one’s mind and body are ultimately free, they have nothing controlling their actions; that freedom is in the way one communicates, one’s actions, one’s choices, one’s