existentialism Archives - Antariksa Akhmadi

Know your limits, but don’t limit yourself.
1. This is not contradictory since the actual limits and the limits one makes against oneself is clearly different.
2. The limits I’m writing here are limits that are beyond one’s control.
3. I.e. the limits are what limits human as a finite being. E.g. the fact that we eat, we need rest, we die, etc.
4. Believers and unbelievers alike will not reject the fact that human is a finite being. For believers, the limits are divine laws. And for unbelievers, it is just the way human is.
5. Actually, the limits are the physical, psychological, and physiological limits of human.
6. There is no way a human can be actually free since he has his limits. Even so, he must not further limit himself and strive to use the remaining freedom to fulfill his life.
Sartre: we define who we are by choices we made.
1. This is an example of existentialist philosophy. Existentialism holds that any kind of thought must start from the individual rather than the universal.
2. Example: some philosophers stated that there is a universal, objective truth. But existentialits would say that truth only exist within an individual and is therefore subjective.
3. The above statement is the explanation of the ‘existence precedes essence’ notion.
  1. Essence: the immaterial nature of things. E.g. what makes a human human.
  2. Existence: the fact that a thing exists. Obvious enough.
  3. Traditional philosophy holds that essence is more important than the essence. But existentialism reverses it.
  4. By saying that existence precedes essence, it is meant that human actually has no essence (or, no meaning) to begin with. People must go on by making choices in order to create their meaning.

Tag: existentialism

Nggak Jelas

By Soren Kierkegaard