Questions tagged [existentialism]
A loose title covering : the individual, the experience of choice, and the absence of rational understanding of the universe with a consequent dread or sense of absurdity in human life.
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What is the need to achieve anything in life? [duplicate]
What is the need to do anything beyond plainly living, consuming food and water, and occupying some space?
Is it necessary for someone with the capability to use their intellectual or material skills ...
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How to save oneself from this particular angst?
This question relates to the angst depicted in the movie Annie Hall, when the younger version of Woody Allen's character feels demotivated about life when he realizes that the universe is expanding.
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Is there not a muddy overlap between the great existentialist questions and the great metaphysical questions?
We all know the fundamentality of these two branches of philosophy. Metaphysics deals with existence as such while existentialism deals with the predicament of human existence.
What I am having ...
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Existentialism is real, so why does Russell's paradox matter? [closed]
"This statement is false."
It certainly looks like a truth-functional statement! So is it true or false?
The true answer is: It doesn’t matter.
If Bertrand Russell has trouble sleeping ...
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Any philosophical works that explicitly address the heat death of the Universe and its philosophical implications?
I have been trying to grasp my brain over the last couple years with this topic and it appears that while I now have a quite decent grasp on it from a physics perspective, meaning on how it works and ...
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Was Nietzsche an amoralist?
Was Friedrich Nietzsche against morality, or at least in favor of not giving it importance? For example, what would Nietzsche think of someone who qualifies for what he considers the Ubermensch or ‘...
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Are "finding the pain of existence unbearable" and "deciding that life is not worth living" the same?
I have tried to present my views regarding these two seemingly related phenomena.
(a) Thinking that Life is not worth living
When one "thinks" that life is not worth living, that is a ...
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Can High Levels of Logical Intelligence Lead to Limit the Evolution of Intelligent Life? [closed]
I have been contemplating a theory about the relationship between high levels of intelligence and existential crises. I've often heard that highly intelligent individuals are more prone to realizing ...
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Question regarding Existentialism [closed]
Is Existentialism the doctrine that existence is meaningless, and that man exists in a universe that is hostile and indifferent to his existence?
If not, what is it the doctrine of?
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What are the clearest definitions of phenomenology and existentialism?
I'm trying to get an understanding of phenomenology and existentialism.
My main questions are, what are the precise definitions of phenomenology and existentialism?
Here's my current starting point.
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Heidegger's Dasein - "Mode of Uncovering"
"By using Dasein as a replacement for 'consciousness' and 'mind,' Heidegger intended to suggest that an individual is in the world in the mode of 'uncovering' and is thus disclosing other ...
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Isn't Camus' philosophy just a violation of Occam's Razor?
The way I see it, Albert Camus' philosophy can be summarised in a dialog as follows:
Q1: What is the meaning of life?
A1: Life has no meaning. It is absurd.
Q2: Then, why live?
A2: To rebel against ...
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What did Haugeland mean when he said that the grounding of ontical truth can be transcendental only as existential?
This is probably a narrow question, and so it's my job to motivate it. Due to the fact it would be inappropriate to expect many people to have read what I'm referencing, I'll try my best to explain my ...
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What does "authentic action" look like for Sartre?
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what is required of an authentic choice is that it involve a proper
coordination of transcendence and facticity, and thus that it avoid
the pitfalls of an uncoordinated expression of the ...
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Life: Pessimism vs optimism
I was reflecting a bit on the history of philosophy and religion and how they view human life. My question is the following: Why does it seem ( at least from my readings and knowledge, I might have ...
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What's the reason to live in this life?
I'm scared of life too much.
What will happen after this life ends? Even in this life, what is happening? Are we just some animals who have higher consciousness and are interacting with each other? ...
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Can we create our own essence/values like what Nietzsche proposed as a solution to nihilism - ubermensch?
I watched Jordan Peterson's lecture on Existentialism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoVhKo4UvQ&ab_channel=JordanBPeterson
and he said that Nietzsche's idea of ubermensch - a new human species ...
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What is the core argument for anti-natalism in this paper by Jiwon Hwang?
I stumbled upon this paper written by Jiwoon Hwang. It's about why it is better to cease existing. He uses David Benatar's assymetry to come to a pro-mortalist conclusion; but unlike Harman, he ...
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What is most important in life? [closed]
So my journey with philosophy has been a perilous one with exestential crisis after exestential crisis, but my latest one is a particularly gnarly one.
Naturally I have an epicurean view of death ( ...
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Absurdism is not the complete answer [closed]
After experiencing existentialism for a number of weeks,I embraced absurdism.
However, after a month of experiencing absurdism as my end all and be all meaning of life philosophy, I come to believe ...
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Are we free to choose what happened, if we don't know what did?
Do any existentialists talk about freedom to choose facts, not values, given that we don't know either way? I don't mean anything as lofty as the existence of god, but what memories are confabulated, ...
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Does Beckett have a philosophy of life, in Worstward Ho? [closed]
Does Beckett have a philosophy of life, in Worstward Ho? It contains the famous line "Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.". At face value, it suggests taking comfort ...
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Why is Sextus Empiricus not self-contradicting and where can I read about his works?
Firstly, Sextus states: "By way of preface let us say that on none of the matters to be discussed do we affirm that things certainly are just as we say they are: rather, we report descriptively ...
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If we keep asking "why" are we guaranteed to end up in one of the three states of the Münchhausen Trilemma?
Could you please explain your reasoning. I thought the whole point of this trilemma was that you can't know anything for certain, yet they propose with certainty that you end up in one of these states,...
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Did Descartes make assumptions in his "I think therefore I exist"?
Didn't Descartes assume the act of doubting, before "proving" that "I think therefore I exist". Its possible to "feel uncertain about feeling uncertain" i.e. doubt the ...
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Is the discussion of truth and perception circular in reasoning?
Can the cliche, "Perception is reality" be incorrect in that (objective) reality is a version of the (subjective) truth, and this version of truth is a form of perception?
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How Do We Understand our Existence? [closed]
I apologize if I tag this post incorrectly as this is my very first post. I’m rather new to philosophical topics and I find myself constrained in a state of disassociation. How do I know I’m here?
I ...
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Does self transparency mean that human like existence, and nothing else, can be intrinsically valuable?
Does self transparency mean that human like existence, and nothing else, can be intrinsically valuable?
I was thinking maybe it is, becasue humans are capable of positing themselves as valuable, while ...
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Help with the basic idea of free choices for Sartre
what is required of an authentic choice is that it involve a proper
coordination of transcendence and facticity, and thus that it avoid
the pitfalls of an uncoordinated expression of the desire for ...
user67675
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Is there any evidence to suggest that our conciousness regularly replaces itself?
I heard on some article that conciousness cannot persist through time and that every second ( or an even shorter duration ) it changes to a new one, is there any evidence to suggest this? Is our ...
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