Understanding existentialism

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3 years ago

 What is the purpose of a flower? Think for a minute.

The primary question is what is the meaning of your life? We will get different answers ranging from god or money or love or success and many more. We create our own sense of purpose of our life depending upon our own understanding. For the majority it is we believe or made to believe that we have been created by the god and assigned a particular purpose or essence as a human being. No one can wrong you if you decide to assign a meaning and a purpose of your life. It is in our nature to find a meaning in everything; it is as if we need those meanings in everything that is happening around us. We devote a lot of our time in finding the meaning and pursuing it otherwise we would feel a vacuum in us. That meaning can come from the religion you follow or by educating others or fighting for a cause or creating art or the meaning could be to raise the children well.

Existentialism says that all these can give meaning but it also says that none of them can.

Coming back to the flower, some might say the purpose of flower is to give color to nature or to give out the sweet smell or give nectar to the bees or to make us happy. I would say the purpose of the flower is to be a flower. For the rest, it is up to them whatever reason it may assign to the existence of the flower.

Aristotle and Plato believed that everything had an essence which can be defined as a certain set of core principles without which it would have no meaning. If those core principles are missing then it would lose its purpose and will be a different thing. For example a knife may have a wooden handle or an ivory handle but if it doesn’t have a sharp blade then it would not be a knife and would not be useful for the purpose it has been made. They went even further and said that our essence exists even before we are born.

We may or may not know what our purpose is and frankly speaking most of us don’t know about it and even less interested to do anything about it. But still it gives a purpose to you because we are made to believe it. These believe of a purpose flourished till the nineteenth century when certain philosophers started questioning it.

The said that it can the other way around, we come to exist and then we decide on a purpose. The purpose is not hardwired before we are born and only after we are born do we search for that purpose. This was quite a radical idea at that time as it challenged the existing belief that we did not have to find our purpose but god did that job for us. But existentialism is not same as atheism. Theistic existentialists do not belief in teleology – it means they do not believe that god made this universe for any reason or with a particular purpose. For them god may exist but it is not in his job description to assign any reason or purpose for you. Our life lacks any real inherent importance.

They call it the absurd. For you and me absurd has a different meaning. For the existentialist is means our effort to search for a meaning when there is none. We always need a meaning but actually we are just living in this meaningless universe. When there is no reason for everything then there are no absolute rules to abide to. There is no cosmic justice or fairness or unfairness or rules or order or chaos. Everything is just as it is.

During the World War 2 this concept of existentialism gained traction. The horrors of the war made many people lose hope in the ordered world and pulled towards this philosophy. The time was such then that if Nazi was possible then finding meaning became futile. The lack of meaning has another connotation; it is the abundance of freedom. Though freedom is what we crave for but it also means that we are free to design our own moral code to live by. We have been programmed by the society to look up to an authority for answers but all such authorities are fake and false. We look up to our parents or religion or political leaders but they are just people like us only. They themselves are unsure and are looking for answers.

So what can we do? They say that what we can do is to live authentically. By this they mean that we take the full responsibility of our freedom within the absurd and any meaning to life has to be given by you only. If you decide to follow a path decided by others then you have bad faith, a refusal to accept the absurd. It means that you are pretending to have found a meaning which you did not give.

A situation will make it clear. If you have to choose between your sick mother where you are required to stay with her and go to the war which is which your country is fighting- which one will you choose? There are no right and wrong answer to it until the one which he chooses to be authentic as per him.

The bottom line is that there is no inherent god or society given purpose to our life and it is for us to decide to give a purpose by choosing authentically. No one can dictate you anything. This is applicable both at the individual level and world level.

 

 

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3 years ago

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We are trying to find the meaning of unknown by pondering . That's very interesting 😀😀😀

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3 years ago

As always an interesting article that makes you think. The question of meaning has accompanied people since they can think. Probably everyone wants to see meaning in their lives. But I think that people make themselves far too important. The universe has existed for billions of years and will continue to exist for billions of years. In most of the time there were no people, and probably there will not be any people either. Humanity is a tiny insignificant episode in the history of the universe. And a single life all the more insignificant.

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3 years ago

I also share similar views. I prefer things to be as it is without trying to assign any meaning to them.

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3 years ago

In my view, meaning is a human invention. There is no general meaning. It is different for each person. When people die out, which I think will undoubtedly happen at some point, there will be no meaning.

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3 years ago

We can ponder or contemplate on the subject matter that is only known to us. If you don't have any idea of something than I question how do you think about it? There is no way to know the unknown by pondering. There are many ways to see this world. The world stands on its own. And the world seems to hold not outside but within our self. I agree with you in one point that this world is human invention . And I don't agree with the sentence that the world stands without any meaning. Sometimes take your time , ask this existence about what is meaning of you? You are standing from eternal time just for nothing? Ask them ? I believe what we make conclusion stands upon the facts that we hold 😀😀😀 why don't you have face to face conversation to the existence . May they answer why they are ?

I repeat when you try to know you only strengthens your holdings . In this way you will be not knowing any unknown things in nature .

Thank you this are only my views, it differ with your so I present it here. I don't have any intentions further

Thank you

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3 years ago

How do you define the meaning? And for whom is the meaning?

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3 years ago

When the sun at morning rises far away in horizon tearing up the darkness . If you just see this in this way and want to find out why it rises then you conclude one of the facets of your holding.

If you want meaning you have to realized it. Realization comes not from the sun that is far away . But it's is the interdependence with the existence. When you get the meaning where sun rises from that horizon or flower just blooming everything laughs back you. Now how can I transfer the meaning that I have known to you. See when I tried , I have to tell you that the meaning lies behind laugh. But again that's not the case. To get what I am saying you must and must be me . Other wise there will be laughing stuff.

Like laughing Buddha there Always remain only some laughing stuff. 😀😀😀😀 Actually I answered not your question, but i tried to answer what is behind the meaning of this all? What is the way?

You question have answer of your own. When I try to answer it, if you get going similar with your positions you say yes agreed . If not then I disagree. Why to go for yes and no.

So I made my own question and answer 😀😀😀😀

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3 years ago

You have written a lot, but have not answered my questions. From my point of view the meaning and significance is different for every person and everybody defines it differently. Man invents the meaning and the sense and lives by it. When man (or all mankind) dies, the meaning invented by invented man disappears. What is the meaning of the fact that the planets circle the sun? They simply circle, regardless of whether you give meaning to the fact or not.

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3 years ago

If you want answer then listen it's only for you

The planets revolves around the sun for me and I live for them to make them go round for me. I live for them and they act for me. 😎😎😎😎

Now it's you turn to grab or perceived what I said😀😀😀😀

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3 years ago

You confirm what I write. You have given meaning to the orbiting planet. That is your sense of the planets orbiting. That is good. When you die, your sense will die with you. But the planets will continue to orbit the sun regardless of whether or not they give meaning to the movements of the planets.

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3 years ago

See I told you , you will go either agreeing with me or not.

You are holding the position that everything is our mind. Mind differ from one another. No doubt that's the reality but when we say about the meaning of existence.

At first I said you are trying to know unknown with you mind. Also I mentioned that you will only know what you know. Unknown can be known by mind.

Your words are mind centric I am taking on existence centric.

😀😀😀😀😀😀

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3 years ago

What do you understand by existence?

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3 years ago

I don't say that everything is our mind. I'm just saying that things (and people) exist regardless of whether we give them meaning or not.

Existence is independent of people, people only try to give meaning to existence.

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3 years ago

Everytime you are asking wrong questions . You may ask with you friends such question they find easy to answer them but I can answer you .......

If you get time someday meet me I will show you the way.

I can't answer . To you surprise till date I haven't found myself. Just searching myself 😎😎😎 and Everytime you are asking to me.

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3 years ago

Can there be wrong questions?

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3 years ago

Yes why not , look in the sky I can see the moon

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3 years ago

Why can there be wrong questions? What can be wrong with a question?

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3 years ago

I know what is your intention now. Better I remain silent .😎😎😎🤔😎

Have a great day ahead

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3 years ago

You now my intention??? I have no intention at all. What intention do you think I have?

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3 years ago

Thank you Telesfor sir

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3 years ago