Philosophy of Humanity

Anthropology (Philosophy of Humanity)

Existentialism

In addition to philosophical schools and movements that have devoted considerable attention to the human condition while focusing primarily on other subjects of inquiry, the 19th and 20th centuries saw the emergence and development of philosophical directions that place the human being at the center of philosophical exploration and as the starting point for explaining all that exists. Among these, existentialism was the most prominent. Its ideologists and followers included numerous philosophers, writers, and artists from around the world, though it was primarily shaped by Germans and French thinkers.

Existentialism is difficult to define as a cohesive school because the views of its adherents varied widely. Nevertheless, they were united by a fundamental conviction reflected in their name. This philosophical direction draws from medieval metaphysics, which posited that any substance could be distinguished by two aspects of its being: existence, the fact of its being, and essence, what it is. These two categories do not always coincide: everything that exists (has existence) necessarily has some essence, but not everything that has essence (is something) actually exists (has existence). For example, a perpetual motion machine has an essence, as one can explain what it is, but it does not have existence because it cannot exist. Armed with this distinction, existentialists argued that existence and essence characterize everything except human beings. Humans are unique entities that possess only existence and lack essence. This implies that one can say a person exists, but not what they are. The essence of a person, that is, what they are, is defined throughout their life by their choices. Thus, existentialists believe that in humans, existence precedes essence, as human existence begins at the moment of their emergence, while their essence is shaped throughout their life.

This fundamental thesis of existentialism gives rise to its main characteristics. Since individuals define their own essence, they experience uncertainty, absurdity, suffering, fear, and so on. A person defines themselves as alive, yet faces the inevitability of death. They seek happiness but endure suffering. They desire certainty about the future, yet circumstances breed fear.

The greatest problem for individuals is that self-definition requires constant choice, which is accompanied by uncertainty, fear, and disillusionment. In making their choices, individuals constantly confront their environment: society and their surroundings attempt to mold them to fit social standards. The educational and upbringing systems at all levels shape individuals and impose their standards. In striving to define themselves independently, individuals must resist this pressure. This constant opposition between individuals and society creates a situation of absurdity and alienation. Deep down, a person feels alien: if they are as they wish to be, they are unneeded; to become necessary and interesting to others, they must become what others want them to be. Hence, the necessity of defining one's essence is accompanied by a constant struggle for one's freedom. For existentialists, freedom is not merely the ability to make decisions but the capacity to define one’s own essence. The entire human life is a drama of freedom. The greatest absurdity of human existence lies in the fact that, no matter how much one tries to grasp freedom, sooner or later, they will die, and their death will destroy all their aspirations. No matter how hard one fights for their freedom, they cannot overcome death. Thus, their life is absurd.

Among existentialists, there were both Christians and atheists. Christian existentialists believe in the resurrection of the dead, and it is this belief that alleviates the absurdity of human existence, giving meaning to human life, as, within the framework of resurrection, the greatest tragedy of humanity ceases to be final and irreversible. In this philosophy, resurrection is the only thing that can explain to individuals that their life, though absurd from a temporal earthly perspective, transcends its absurdity in the perspective of eternity. For Christian existentialists, human life, despite everything, is worth living. The philosophy of atheistic existentialists is much more pessimistic. It contains nothing that would help individuals overcome the absurdity of their existence. It is a philosophy that insists that life has no meaning.

The origins of existentialism can be traced to the Danish Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). His philosophy is based on the belief that a person is unique and individual, being created in the image of God. Since the essence of God cannot be defined, human essence is also indefinable. A person forms their essence by choosing a particular way of life and self-definition. Humans cannot avoid shaping their own essence. There are three levels of self-definition. The first level is the aesthetic stage, where a person indulges in sensory pleasures. This stage inevitably leads to saturation and loss of meaning. Symbols of this stage include Don Juan, who destroys himself in relentless pursuit of pleasure, and Faust, who has attained all possible pleasures and has become disillusioned with them. The second level is the ethical stage, where a person strictly adheres to morality and law. At this stage, a person becomes a model member of society and dissolves within it, losing their individuality. The symbol of this stage is Socrates.

The third level is the religious stage, where a person transcends moral principles and realizes their distinctiveness and uniqueness. At this stage, the person begins to confront society and becomes aware of the absurdity of human existence. The greatest problem for the person is their uncertainty. A person can only overcome the absurdity of their existence with the help of God. However, one can never know for certain whether God will have mercy on them. The ultimate fate of a person depends on God's will. Thus, at the religious stage, a person experiences alienation from society, the absurdity of existence, and the tragedy of uncertainty, while simultaneously holding hope in God who might remove this absurdity.

In the German-speaking world, existentialism was continued by the philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Theodor Jaspers (1883-1969). He analyzed the phenomenon of boundary situations, moments in life when a person reflects on the meaning of life and death. For example, during periods of severe illness, the loss of loved ones, or extreme danger, a person questions the meaning of their existence. At these moments, a person sheds the ballast of everyday worries; everything earthly becomes insignificant. It is in such moments that the overwhelming desire to find meaning in life and transcend the absurd arises. Unable to find an exit in this world, the person transcends, directing their gaze to that which is beyond the world and can provide meaning to their existence — to God. For many, boundary situations are moments of encounter with God. This encounter cannot be described. Hence, the state in which a person enters when meeting God is one of "dumbfoundedness," a loss of the ability to express oneself, as there are no words to describe the encounter with God, and speaking of anything else after this encounter is meaningless, as everything else in the face of meeting God appears insignificant and pale.

Among French-speaking existentialists, the most prominent thinker was Nobel Laureate Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), who was an atheist in terms of his religious views. According to Sartre, the fundamental characteristic of a person is freedom. Because a person’s essence is undefined, they have the freedom to choose their own essence. On the one hand, this freedom differentiates them from animals and grants them uniqueness. On the other hand, freedom is a source of anxiety. The necessity of constant choice deprives the person of peace. The world and society strive to dissolve the individual within themselves. The struggle for self-definition creates a confrontation between the individual and the world. This confrontation generates anxiety and renders human life absurd. The greatest absurdity of human existence is death. Since Sartre was an atheist, he did not believe in resurrection; thus, death, in his view, is the ultimate end of the person. The prospect of death renders everything that a person does meaningless. Sartre's philosophy is highly pessimistic: human life is an absurdity that evokes only nausea in those who contemplate it.

Another Nobel Laureate, Albert Camus (1913-1960), was also an existentialist and an atheist, although he himself denied being an existentialist and atheist. Of all the followers of this direction, Camus likely evokes the greatest despair in his readers. He asserted that all human life is a sheer absurdity devoid of any meaning. Throughout their lives, people must engage in meaningless work, achieve meaningless goals, and ultimately face death, which unveils the entire absurdity of life. In his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" (1942), Camus compared human life to Sisyphus’s task of eternally rolling a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down each time. There is no escape from this situation. In his essay "The Rebel" (1951), Camus agreed that human revolts and revolutions led to positive changes in society, but they did not eliminate the absurdity of human life. The only correct response for the individual is to accept their situation and observe the absurdity. Camus claimed that God does not exist, but he was convinced that only God could provide meaning to the absurdity of human life. Camus criticized attempts to impose meaning on the absurdity of life forcibly, as attempted by communists, national-socialists, and other totalitarian regimes.

A more optimistic existentialist system was developed by the French philosopher Gabriel Honoré Marcel (1889-1973), who was a Christian. The central concepts of Marcel's philosophy were being and having, or "to be" and "to have." A person is someone but also possesses something. The goal of having is to support being; human being should give meaning to having. However, having constantly displaces being. People perceive others not as individuals but according to their statuses and possessions, based on what they have. The development of science and technology contributes to the displacement of being by having. With changing values, people began to view others not as "you" but as "it." People have become mere instruments to achieve their goals. The inability to see another person as "you" also leads to the negation of the absolute "you" of God. The emphasis on having has led to atheism and secularization. If people do not see others as "you," they treat others cruelly and barbarically. Marcel explained the two world wars he witnessed as manifestations of this cruelty, caused by alienation from others and the loss of the ability to recognize others as fellow humans. If this alienation continues, human cruelty and hatred will increase. If this cruelty (which the two world wars showed to be boundless) is multiplied by the achievements of science and technology (e.g., atomic bombs, chemical weapons, etc.), it could lead to the destruction of humanity. The only path to salvation is a return of the value vector from "having" to "being" and a revival of religion, which would restore humanity’s sense of being.

Existentialism was a highly influential philosophical and cultural movement. Its popularity is reflected in the number of Nobel Prizes awarded to existentialists. In addition to the philosophers mentioned, there were many others who identified with existentialism. Existentialism also found expression in literature. Notable existentialist writers include Nobel Laureate André Gide (1869-1951), writer Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), writer and politician André Malraux (1901-1976), writer Boris Vian (1920-1959), Nobel Laureate William Gerald Golding (1911-1993), Spanish writer and rector of the University of Salamanca Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (1864-1936), and others.