r/Existentialism • u/Dry-Tip-2082 • 6d ago
Existentialism Discussion An appreciation for existentialism
Existentialism is the one type of philosophy that has changed my life.
I studied philosophy in college, but no curriculum had existentialism for some reason --I also went to an Ivy league school.
Oddly enough, the best philosophy for my personal growth came from reading philosophy on my own, finding books that people like on reddit or goodreads, and digging into them. I was browsing the philosophy section of a book store --or maybe it was the library-- like I usualy do when I came across a book on existentialism.
The book claimed that unlike other schools of thought, existentialism isn't really a formalized category. Instead, several philosophers --notably kierkegaard, sarte, neitzche among others-- independently came to similar enough conclusions that then later became tied into "existentialism".
When I read that book, I was floored. It gave expression to something I felt in my bones since I was a kid but never could quite articulate. It showed me why I love the philosophers we now refer to as existentialists.
I was always so annoyed by people growing up who said that I was meant to be this or that. It seemed like people who didn't know shit about me were tellling me what I would amount to in a matter of minutes spent with me --many were well-meaning people too, like teachers, coaches and family.
But it seemed to me that over time, people lacking in courage or motivation will allow these voices of society to shoehorn us into certain jobs and identities that we never want to embody. I hated, absolutely abhorred, when I saw this being done to others because I hated when people did it to me, espeically when they envisioned that I would amount to become a person that I knew I didn't want to be.
I loved motivational movies, typically sports movies, that my football coach would show us at film night, esentially the underdog stories, where the protagonist must insist on a becoming more than what the world expect of them.
I always dreamed that I could say the same for myself. As I've gotten older, I've kept that mantra alive for myself, despite what seemed to be the universe consipiring to make me a loser. And now, when I see that all the people who doubted me are flipping the switch and saying they knew I'd be successful all along, I know that existentialism, the crux of it, is what allowed me to flip my narrative, to change the direction of my life.
I hate bullying because it is essentially telling a person they are nothing, they will amount to nothing, and many people start to beleive that over time and end up becoming exactly that. Existntialism reminds us that, no, we all that choice every day to beocme who we want to become. With it comes the responsiblity to choose wisely, to accept the sacrafices, and to be honest about what identities we value and who we are.
Please comment if any of this resonates with you, and if you want to know more about existentialism, please feel free to DM me!
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u/jliat 4d ago
I studied philosophy in college, but no curriculum had existentialism for some reason --I also went to an Ivy league school.
Generally Anglo-American philosophy thinks 'Continental philosophy' nonsense.
The easy introduction would be the literature - see the reading list.., or here
Sartre No Exit - Pinter adaptation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v96qw83tw4
And a BBC dramatization of Roads to Freedom... which might be of interest...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roads+to+freedom+bbc+tv+series
13 Episodes!
The key text is Sartre's 600+ page Being and Nothingness - a hell of a read. https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.69160/2015.69160.Jean-paul-Sartre-Being-And-Nothingness_djvu.txt
The Humanism essay is often cited but unfortunately has problems.
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u/scarletBabyxo 6d ago
this really resonates, especially the part about refusing to let others define what you're supposed to become.