Exploring Existentialism
Exploring Existentialism
Existentialism is a philosophical movement or tendency, emphasizing individual existence, freedom and choice. There are four major themes incorporated in existentialism. The first being moral individualism, the basic thought that one reaches for moral perfection or follows those who they deem morally perfect. It is also the belief that moral choice is objective and is distinctive on what is distinguished as right or wrong. The second theme is subjectivity, searching for the truth. In order to arrive at the truth it is essential to gain personal experience and act on your own convictions. Following subjectivity is choice and commitment, meaning each human being has the right to makes choices and then commit to them. Finally the last theme is dread and anxiety, which consists of the fear of mistake. The idea of existentialism and its major themes are expressed in both novels, Invitation To Sociology, by Peter L. Berger, The Stranger, by Albert Camus and the film, "La Petite Apocalypse," directed by Costa Gavras.
In our daily lives one might question our individual existence, why we and those around us act as we do. The novel, Invitation To Sociology conveys the reasoning of such topics like, alternation, our biography, maturation, "othering" ect... These topics are the foundation of man and society. Take for instance alternation, according to Berger, alternation is the ability to choose meaning or viewpoints in our lives. It is related to the idea of biography. We go through life and gain experience, ideas and history, in a sense. Our biography is our resume, it is the most important events in our life, put in chronological order or order of importance. Alternation is taking these events and making the meaning or purpose of our life, our totality. Our totality is our total answer, our purpose, for what reason we are on this earth. The meaning of our life however is constantly changing with our...
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