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?
Source
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 ...
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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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Burden of proof and solipsism
If we say that the burden of proof is on the one making the claim and thus we should only believe in something if we have proof and should otherwise discard it, than the saying that an external world ...
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Why should I seek to determine the ultimate nature of reality (i.e. whether God exists or not)?
Here is my argument:
Until recently, I considered the pursuit (and eventual determination) of the ultimate nature of reality to be one of the most (if not the most) important goals for me. This is ...
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Can life have meaning when all your happiness is from a clear illusion?
When all your happiness is from a clear illusion, is your life meaningless? I am not talking about intentionally living a lie, because I don't mean lying to yourself about it, but feeling as if it ...
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“That melancholy convention cannot be persuasive.” What does this quote mean (from the Myth of Sisyphus)?
For context, this is the paragraph:
I come at last to death and to the attitude we have toward it. On this point, everything has been said and it is only proper to avoid pathos. Yet one will never be ...
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Are there some or many songs by Georges Brassens which could be considered as existentialist?
Are there some or many songs by Georges Brassens which could be considered as existentialist?
A Wikipedia definition of the philosophy of existentialism (developed by authors such as Kierkegaard, ...
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What would be a reasonable response to this take that we shouldn't ponder abstract propositions about the meaning of life?
X says: “That moment when you realise that you've spent your entire life endlessly pondering abstract propositions about the meaning of life instead of actually feeling like you've led a meaningful ...
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Can we specify something vague with a definite time?
Can we specify something vague, e.g. without a boundary, with a definite time?
I am more satisfied with the idea that I became bald sometime in my 20s, I guess, than I am with the claim that I will &...
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Are there any philosophers who work on ideas related to cosmicism (H.P. Lovecraft's literary philosophy)?
I was reading up on this idea of cosmicism that H.P. Lovecraft espoused. Wikipedia summarises the view nicely saying, "Cosmicism shares many characteristics with nihilism, though one important ...
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Is "Why do we live?" a philosophical question?
After posting a question akin to "Why do we live?" in the r/AskPhilosophy subreddit its moderators got it removed, providing as motivation "All questions must be about philosophy".
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Did Kierkegaard believe that we should live seeking meaning and not happiness?
Before I pose my question I want to say two things:
I have no formal training in Philosophy
I searched for similar questions but found none, please excuse me if this is a duplicate
I saw a YouTube ...
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Is there a philosophical concept that describes the notion that all permutations of human experience must exist simultaneously?
It's the idea that, basically, if we each have our own paths to walk, so to speak, and if they are all unique to each individual person, then that must mean every possible permutation of a "life&...
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A newbie's highly thought-upon plan for starting philosophy [closed]
How's it going guys, I hope you're all having a great time!
Greetings, to all the great minds here!
I would really appreciate your help with my entrance to the infinite world of philosophy.
First, I ...
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Can existence be justified as ‘better’ than non-existence?
I’m relatively new to philosophy. Been doing some soul-searching, and asked myself ‘is good empirically better than evil’. Found a thread on here, where people pointed out that science cannot really ...
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An Eternal Reward for Our Actions - Are There Strong Incentives to do Anything
I'm wondering:
Humans are mortal. Death seems to nullify any gains made by the self to the self.
Humans are subject to natural impulses towards actions (for example, we are compelled by natural ...
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To what extent can one admit that language is an adequate outlet for explicit feelings and experiencings?
If I am sharing my thoughts and another person goes “oh, that’s relatable,” or “yeah, I totally get it,” and other variations like “I feel you on that one!” Do they, really? Is language ever enough, ...
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Who are some philosophers who explore the possibility/impossibility of the intimacy of understanding others?
Can one ever be understood? When people say “yeah, I feel you” do they really? Is language enough of an outlet to transmit feelings with enough exactitude?
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What is the anti-thesis of Existentialism?
Existentialism represents a turning away from systematic philosophy (with its emphasis on metaphysical absolutes and principles of rational certainty) and toward an emphasis on the concrete existence ...
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Are there secular philosophers who argue for predetermined and given meaning/value in life and essentialism?
In continental philosophy particularly existentialism, thinkers reject the idea that there are any predetermined or given meanings/values in life, and stresses that we must take up our freedom and ...
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Why care for anything in life? [closed]
Great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his Thus spoke Zarathustra told us a man should become an ‘ overman ‘ or ‘ ubermensch ‘i.e. someone who believes in the nihilism of the universe (Believing ...
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Do humans need some agency over the world around them for their lives to have some sense or purpose?
This is a follow up to this question I was told to revise: If all work is automated, what will humans be able to do? After consideration I think that the only way to salvage that question is to break ...
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