Philosophical Perspectives

Essentialism

Plato and Aristotle argued that everything has an “essence” (including us) and a set of attributes that are necessary to construct an identity.
Our “essence” is set before we are even born and plays a role in determining our future. We have a clear purpose in life and strive to achieve it.

Basics of Existentialism

Existentialists believe that we are not born hardwired for a specific purpose or have an “essence” from the beginning.
We are responsible for figuring out meaning and purpose within our own lives. There is no set path.
We create our own essence and are entirely free to make our own choices.
Unfortunately, this freedom ultimately causes us to feel dread, despair, and anguish.

Existential Terminology

Abandonment – Isolation. Nobody can truly guide and help you.
Absurdist - Existence is meaningless, irrational and any search for order will cause stress. We are searching for answers in an answerless world.
Anguish – Nothing relieves the stress of our responsibilities. We have complete freedom to make decisions. Nobody can validate us.
Bad Faith – Paradox of lying to the self to escape the responsibility of being an individual.
Essence – Properties that serve to characterize someone. Your essence is your role in the universe and is defined by your actions.

Existentialist Atheism:

According to Jean-Paul Sartre, God does not exist; therefore, we have no values or commands to legitimize our conduct.
There is nobody to look to for guidance or assurance that we are making the right choice.
We are alone with no excuses and no higher power to define us.

Existential Anguish:

We are condemned to be free and have a unique position as a self-determining agent in life.
Part of the famous existential despair is embracing the fundamental aloneness in an indifferent universe.
By making choices, we define who we are but also must accept the responsibility of the outcome. This causes us to feel overwhelmed.

Existential Humanism:

Sartre constantly criticized our tendency to make excuses for our mistakes or blame others for our misfortune. Denying yourself the freedom you have is considered “mauvaise foi” or living in “bad faith”.
Therefore, people who go through life in bad faith live an inauthentic “zombie kind” of existence.
People who face the emptiness of their universe, accept responsibility for their choices, and create their own essence live “authentic" lives.

Existential Feminism:

According to existentialism, a woman must cease being accepted as the “other” defined by the male gaze and expectation; she must face the emptiness of human existence and begin from nothing to construct her own identity.

In the 20th century, nihilism encompassed a variety of philosophical stances that, in one sense or another, denied the existence of genuine moral truths or values, rejected the possibility of knowledge or communication, and asserted the ultimate meaninglessness or purposelessness of life or of the universe.
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed there were no rules, no values, and no certainties in life.

Absurdism is a philosophical perspective which holds that our efforts to find meaning or a rational explanation within the universe will ultimately fail because no such meaning exists, at least to human beings.
French philosopher Albert Camus is best known for his concept of the absurd.