3. Philosophers consider EXISTENTIALISM as the
nature of the human condition.
All Existentialists emphasize the person as subject.
Existentialists accept the conclusion that "existence
precedes essence“.
The subject exists, and for some, he alone exists; that
is to say, if any essence whatever exists, it is the
individual's subjective state of existence (William S.
Sahakian and Mabel L. Sahakian, Ideas of the Great
Philosophers, NY Bames and Noble, Inc., 1966, p. 167).
4. “Man is nothing else but what he
purposes, he exists only in so far as
he realizes himself,
he is therefore nothing else
but the sum of his actions,
nothing else but what his life is.”
-Jean – Paul Sarte-
5. (William S. Sahakian and Mabel L. Sahakian, Ideas of the Great Philosophers, NY
Bames and Noble, Inc., 1966, p. 167).
6. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
1. Philosophy as aWay of Life
Philosophy should not be thought of primarily either as
an attempt to investigate and understand the self or the world,
or as a special occupation that concerns only a few. Rather,
philosophy must be thought of as fully integrated within life. To
be sure, there may need to be professional philosophers, who
develop an elaborate set of methods and concepts (Sartre
makes this point frequently) but life can be lived philosophically
without a technical knowledge of philosophy.
7. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
1. Philosophy as aWay of Life
Second, a notion that we can call ‘ ’:
philosophy studies life from the inside.
“
” –
Kierkegaard-
10. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
3. Freedom
“there is nothing else that acts through me, or
that shoulders my responsibility”
For example, I say ‘I am a student’ (treating myself as having a
fixed, thing-like identity) or ‘I had no choice’ (treating myself as
belonging to the causal chain). I am ascribing a fixed identity or
set of qualities to myself, much as I would say ‘that is a piece of
granite’. In that case I am existing in denial of my distinctively
human mode of existence; I am fleeing from my freedom.This is
inauthenticity or ‘bad faith’. As we shall see, inauthenticity is not
just an occasional pitfall of human life, but essential to it. Human
existence is a constant falling away from an authentic recognition
of its freedom.
11. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
4. Situatedness
The necessity of viewing or understanding
life and existence from the ‘inside’.
12. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
5. Existence
For many existentialists, authentic existence involves a
certain tension be recognised and lived through, but not resolved:
this tension might be between the animal and the rational
(important in Nietzsche) or between facticity and transcendence
(Sartre and de Beauvoir).
“my acts are free, I am not free not to act”
Marcel
13. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
6. Irrationality/Absurdity
Among the most famous ideas associated with
existentialism is that of ‘absurdity’. Human existence might be
described as ‘absurd’ in one of the following senses.
First, many existentialists argued that nature as a
whole has no design, no reason for existing.
A second meaning of the absurd is this: my freedom will
not only be undetermined by knowledge or reason, but from
the point of view of the latter my freedom will even appear
absurd.
Third, human existence as action is doomed to always
destroy itself.
14. KEYTHEMES OF EXISTENTIALISM
7.The Crowd
Existentialism generally also carries a social or political
dimension. Insofar as he or she is authentic, the freedom of the
human being will show a certain ‘resolution’ or ‘commitment’, and
this will involve also the being – and particularly the authentic
being – of others.
‘that is what everybody does’
15. Thus, existentialism is a philosophical
movement that is generally considered a study that
pursues meaning in existence and seeks value for the
existing individual. As a result, questions regarding
the meaning of life and subjective experience are
seen as being of paramount importance, above all
other scientific and philosophical pursuits.
16. Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) is regarded as the
father of modern existentialism and is the first
European Philosopher who bears the existentialist label.
In his view, subjectivity and intensity should be priced as
the criteria of truth and genuineness. We touch reality in
intense moments of existence especially moments of
painful decision. These moments are characterized by
deep anxiety, and life is known in such moments and
cannot be reduced to just system of ideas.
17. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) is regarded
as a key figure in the rise of existentialism.
According to him Christianity is to be
overcome by putting in its place the doctrine of
Superman, that is, man surpassing himself.
18. Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976) in his book
Being andTime, gave a very impressive
analysis of human existence, the
prominence of the important themes of
existentialism like care, anxiety, guilt and
above all death is brought out here.
19. EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF
EXISTENTIALISM
The aim of Education : Existentialists believe that the most
important kind of knowledge is about the human condition and the
choices that each person has to make, and that education is a
process of developing consciousness about the freedom to choose
and the meaning of responsibility for one’s choices. Hence, the
notion of group norms, authority, and established order – social,
political, philosophical, religious, and so on – are rejected. The
existentialists recognize few standards, customs to traditions, or
eternal truths; in this respect, existentialism is at odds with the
ideas of idealism and realism.
20. Total Development :The existentialists have aimed at
total development of personality through education.
Education should aim at the whole man. It should aim
at character formation and self – realization. In the
existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second
place to helping the students understand and
appreciate themselves as unique individuals who
accept complete responsibility for their thoughts,
feelings, and actions. Since feeling is not divorced from
reason in decision making, the existentialist demands
the education of the whole person, not just the mind.
21. Subjective Knowledge : The present age of science has made too
much of objective knowledge, so much so, that the term has come
to mean unreal, non-sense, ignorant and irrelevant. The
existentialists rightly, point out that subjective knowledge is even
more important than objective knowledge. They rightly hold that
truth is subjectivity. It is a human value and values are not facts.
Reduction of values to facts has led to widespread loss of faith in
values. Therefore, along with the teaching of science and
mathematics, the humanities, art, literature should be also be given
suitable place in curriculum at every stage of education. Most of the
ills of the modern man are due to over – objective attitude. This
requires a subjectivist correction in the light of existentialist ideas.
22. Importance of Environment :The present industrial, economic,
political and social environment is valueless.Therefore, it helps
confusion and corruption, tensions and conflicts.The
existentialists seek to provide an environment proper to self –
development and self – consciousness.The environment in the
school requires contribution from humanities, arts and educand
so that he may cease to become a cog in the social wheel.
Rather he should develop to a self – conscious and sensitive
individual.
23. Child – Centred Education : Existentialist education is child –
centred. It gives full freedom to the child. The teacher should
help the child to know himself and recognize his being.
Freedom is required for natural development. Education should
convert imperfection into perfection. Education should be
according to the individual’s needs and abilities of the child. The
relation of the child to himself should be strengthened by
education.
24. Curriculum : Existentialists prefer to free learners to choose
what to study and also determine what is true and by what
criteria to determine these truths. The curriculum would avoid
systematic knowledge or structured disciplines, and the
students would be free to select from many available learning
situations. The learners would choose the knowledge they wish
to possess. The humanities are commonly given tremendous
emphasis. They are explored as a means of providing students
with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own
creativity and self – expression. For example, rather than
emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon the
actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides
possible models for the students’ own behaviour.
25. Learning Experiences : An existentialist curriculum would
consist of experiences and subjects that lend themselves to
philosophical dialogue and acts of choice making. Because
the choice is personal and subjective, subjects that are
emotional, aesthetic and philosophical are appropriate.
Literature, drama, film – making, art, and so on, are
important, because, they portray the human condition and
choice – making conditions. The curriculum would stress self
– expressive activities, experimentation, and media that
illustrate emotions, feelings and insights.
26. The Teacher :
According to the existentialists the teacher creates an educational
situation in which the student may establish contact with himself,
become conscious of it and achieve self – realization. This requires
existential approach in the teacher himself. He should also have an
experience of self – realization so that he may be capable of guiding
the students in this process. The teacher’s role is to help students
define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they
may take in life and creating an environment in which they may
freely choose their own preferred way.Existentialist methods focus
on the individual. Learning is self paced, self directed, and includes
a great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to
each student openly and honestly.
27. The student :The student should feel
completely free for realizing his ‘self’.
Under the guidance of the teacher,
the student should try to realize his
‘self’ through introversion.The
student accepts the discipline
28. Religious and Moral Education :
The existentialists particularly lay emphasis upon religion
and moral education. Religion allows a person to develop himself.
Religious education gives him an understanding of his existence in
the cosmos. It shows the religious path of self – realization. It also
makes him capable of utilizing faith in self – development. Moral
education is closely related to religious education. Both develop
the inner self and help in the realization of the infinite within the
finite.
