Since the beginning of though, philosophy has become one of the oldest subjects known to Man. Existentialism and the Mythical Worldview have been around for centuries and still inspire theories about them today. The Mythical Worldview and Existentialism share the common bond of the absurd, regardless of the fact that they are two distinct theories in Philosophy. In the following essay, the similarities and differences between these worldviews will be made evident as well as how they equally relate to the absurd by their nature and content.
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sarte is known to have established existentialism in France after the liberation of Paris in 1944. Existentialism is the philosophy that states that the values people choose influences the choices they make and how they interpret the meanings of their decisions. When existentialism was introduced in the United States, it challenged Americans to access their ethical standards from a different perspective.
The systems that I had originally identified most strongly with throughout my semester in Music in Psychotherapy were Person-Centered Therapy and Existential Therapy. Upon further research, I learned of Gestalt Therapy, which is an existential form of psychotherapy. We did not research this particular form in class, but found this system to be quite intriguing and felt that aspects of it would combine nicely with the others. Though I would very much like to, I have never been to any type of therapy in which I was the client. After doing the first reading for this class, which was the Person-Centered Therapy chapter, I quickly realized that even just studying the different systems on my own would become very beneficial to my own mental health. I also realized how difficult it would be. Certain activities and ideas that I was presented with in both Person-Centered and Existential presentations were actually quite painful for me to be apart of. These activities raised my level of awareness, as they were intended to do. In a way, they asked me to face certain things about myself and the world around me that I was not so sure that I like. At first, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be aware.
When Simone de Beauvoir died in Paris in 1986, the wreath of obituaries almost universally spoke of her as the 'mother' of contemporary feminism and its major twentieth century theoretician. De Beauvoir, it was implied as much as stated, was the mother-figure to generations of women, a symbol of all that they could be, and a powerful demonstration of a life of freedom and autonomy (Evans 1).
Existential Therapy (ET) will be utilized in this case study to assist M’Lynn through the counseling process to acknowledge that she is the one making the choices in her life, and deciding what course her life takes. In Existential Therapy (ET), there are numerous incarnations and techniques because the emphasis is on individuality, recognizing that each therapeutic relationship is unique (Jones & Butman, 2011). In Existential Therapy (ET) the focus is on what the client is experiencing in the present, not what has occurred in their past. The focal point of Existential Therapy (ET) is self-awareness and self-understanding. The relationship between the counselor
Historically, power has been manifested hierarchically within the social training of genders. Simone De Beauvoir’s concept of ‘otherness’ has theorized how individuals’ personal manifestations of self are influenced deeply by their social position and the available power to them within these circumstances (2000:145). She remains one of the first to develop a feminist philosophy of women. In her book The Second Sex (1950), Beauvoir provides “a philosophical account of the development of patriarchal society and the condition of women within it” (Oliver, 1997:160). Beauvoir’s fundamental initial analysis begins by asking, “what is woman” and concludes woman is “other” and always defined in relation to man (Beauvoir, 2000:145). “He is the Subject,
Existentialism is perhaps one of the world’s oldest philosophies. It has been dated back to nineteenth-century Danish and Greek philosophers. It is a simple idea, yet it has so many different ideals within it that it is almost impossible to define. There are many parts that make up one whole, basic idea. The many parts have been defined by famous existentialist artists and writers such as, Nietzsche, Chamfort, Sartre, and Kafka. These works have all proven many points about existentialism; however, even the pros cannot decide on one basic idea. That is why there are so many different interpretations of this famous ideal. If there were a single definition it would have something to do with having your own ideas and being free to choose any path.
There has been a long and on going discourse on the battle of the sexes, and Simone De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex reconfigures the social relation that defines man and women, and how far women has evolved from the second position given to them. In order for us to define what a woman is, we first need to clarify what a man is, for this is said to be the point of derivation (De Beauvoir). And this notion presents to us the concept of duality, which states that women will always be treated as the second sex, the dominated and lacking one. Woman as the sexed being that differs from men, in which they are simply placed in the others category. As men treat their bodies as a concrete connection to the world that they inhabit; women are simply treated as bodies to be objectified and used for pleasure, pleasure that arise from the beauty that the bodies behold. This draws us to form the statement that beauty is a powerful means of objectification that every woman aims to attain in order to consequently attain acceptance and approval from the patriarchal society. The society that set up the vague standard of beauty based on satisfaction of sexual drives. Here, women constantly seek to be the center of attention and inevitably the medium of erection.
One legacy of existentialist influence is perhaps the feeling that there is a native enmity between ideology and reality, between ideology and humanity. Thus,
Existentialism is the philosophical theory that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of there will. Friedrich Nietzsche central message concludes that “the basic drive of all living things is not a struggle to survive, but a struggle for power …” (p.530). Jean-Paul Sartre has a different central message stating “Nothing tells me what to do. I myself decide” (p.317). These messages show why they are regarded as existentialists.
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.
Feminism is an issue that will be continually fought for. Because of this, significant individuals and groups have been extremely instrumental in providing a grounded approach to dealing with new and conflicting forms of feminism. Simone de Beauvoir
Why are humans on the earth? What is the meaning of life? What is going to happen when we die? These are some of the many questions people ask during their time on this earth. Over time, there have been many explanations about why we as humans are here. Answers began with creation stories; then as time went on Plato philosophized different ideas about reality; now in modern times the newest idea is existentialism. Although existentialism is the newest idea, it is not the most important artistic and intellectual force of the modern era. Existentialism is a powerful force, however in modern times it argues with older “truth” systems and forces people to and causes people to struggle with what to believe in.
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.
There are many different techniques and approaches to group counseling. The approach that I found to be the most interesting is the existential approach. “The existential perspective holds that we define ourselves by our choices” (Corey & Corey, 2014, p.114). This approach can be successful in therapy because it allows one to oversee one’s future. In this paper, I’m going to generally discuss the existential approach to therapy and where it can be used.