Impact of Existentialism on the 20th Century Humanity - Article Example

Impact of Existentialism on the 20th Century Humanity Number The Outline I. Introduction A. ConnotationB. Application in 20th century II. Impact to 20th century humanity A. Life essence B. Protection of life C. Concrete life III. Freedom A. Social freedom B. Political C. Economic IV. Summary A. Existentialism B. Significance in 20th century humanity V. Conclusion Existentialism Existentialism refers to the general nature of contemporary philosophies based on the evaluation of life and of the situation that defines human existence in the 20th century world. The concept is that people exist first, before each person spends an existence modifying their significance or nature. Alternatively, existentialism is a theory founded upon finding identity and the essence of life. This can be achieved through liberty, choice, and individual conscientiousness. The feeling is that individuals are looking for ways through which they can establish their individuality throughout life as they resort to various decisions influenced by their past life, principles, and perception. And individual choices become distinct without the need of a strong form of reality. An existentialist holds that an individual ought not to be coerced to make decisions and be accountable without uniform application of regulations, ethnic systems, or cultures. Impact of existentialism on 20th century Society Existentialistic philosophies were discovered at a time when human persons across the world were grappling with a profound sense of hopelessness following the economic challenges of the Great Depression and the Second World War. Nonetheless, there was a ray of hope among humanity that had been devastated by extensive wars and calamities that rocked the world in 1940s (West, 2008). This dejection had been expressed by existentialist thinkers well into the second half of the twentieth century and has assumed more prominence ever since. The main tenet of existentialism that extended into the twenty first century revolves around the act of allowing humanity the liberty to choose their preferred ethical beliefs and way of life. An existentialist, for instance, could either exhibit religious morality, or amoral atheism or agnostic relativism (Dore, 2010). Existentialism essentially holds that human existence falls short of being successful and absolutely enjoyable because of pain and damages that take place when looking into the lack of faultlessness, authority, and composure that one enjoys over their existence. Whereas the philosophers do concur that existence is not fairly satisfying, it however has essence. Twentieth century existentialism involved the exploration of and process for actual self and true individual essence in life (Hufford, 2010). It is notable that the arbitrary acts define the negative sense of existentialism; that is, an individual’s or a society’s attempt to compel or put demands that their philosophies, morals, or principles must be duly accepted and respected, waters down the essence of existentialism. Existentialists hold the opinion that this erodes individuality from humanity and render them to more of puppets of the leaders who hold influential positions. Existentialism then accentuates that an individual’s decision defines his or her essence. Arbitrary spiritual or worldly values, however, contravene individual liberty. Essence of concrete life of the 20th century According to Visker (2007), existentialist philosophers underscored the essence of proper human life and its positive impact rather than theorizing a human essence, as the latter is influenced by choices that individuals made in life. Nonetheless, whereas the actual individual life must have had precedence in existentialism, particular conditions were usually believed to be common to humanity. The nature of these factors was better known in the connotation of ‘existence,’ which implies taking a stand on major issues affecting oneself. Humans lived an entirely different life from what happens or is available in their immediate environment. This divide is what brought about the essence into the unbiased world and its values. This hypothesized meaning remains delicate, constantly facing counter-arguments from insightful reasoning. It is in such despair that prompted the 20th century humanity to understand the origin and essence of the crumbled socio-economic and political philosophies of the modern world, damaged by a high level of conflict (Hufford, 2010). In light of the concrete nature of life, most societies across the world began to adopt a liberal approach to dealing with humanity such as the institutionalization of procreation rights and the proper upbringing of children, without whom life of the future generations would be at jeopardy. Dore (2010) indicates that a major tenet of existentialism is that life precedes essence. This implies the real life of a person is what makes up what creates individuality. Thus, humanity, through their unique consciousness, establishes their individual values and defines the meaning of existence. As existentialism philosophers put it, human persons must exist first, encounter individuality, explore the society and align themselves with a unique status afterwards. In light of this, individuals opted to behave differently, by exhibiting good behaviors instead of acting in an unkind way. This explains the reason why human life was highly valued anti-abortion movements of the twentieth century. These organizations believed that every individual had the right to life and any attempt to eliminate it, was tantamount to killing the entire process of human life and its eventual essence (Visker, 2007). Freedom of the 20th century society The existentialist philosophy of liberty is usually misconceived as a situation in which anything is achievable and individual morals are insignificant to preferences and deed. This ideology is usually associated with the accentuated irrationality of humanity and the theory that all values would be fine to practice (West, 2008). In light of this, there were no perfect values of humanity; hence the need to be tolerant by allowing different groups in a society to practice what they believe was fine to them, hence the freedom of the twentieth century. All humans were normally raised in an environment of certain values, and although the values could not be easily justified, they inherently were part of such individuals. According to Hufford (2010), existentialism eliminated the conventional ‘dictatorial’ nature of expressing oneself, which was tightly limited in some way. Before the 20th century, decisions were largely made without giving room for ones morals to confer varied opinion(s) (Dore, 2010). The then philosophy was based on the refusal to explore other options to an issue, a clear sense of refusing to leave ‘anything to chance.’ This is perceived to be negative response to go about the resulting situation brought about by a unique decision of an individual, which was long overdue after many centuries of colonialism, slavery and repressive regimes around the world. In view of this, existentialist liberty triggered the need of a free humanity, and since the people already were existing in the world. What is left out this explanation of existential-related liberty, nonetheless, is that an individual’s morals are unchallengeable. Conversely, the values may only be changed if an individual contemplates his or her values and sees the essence of changing them, with respect to the other prevailing values in society. A result of this reality, individuals were not only liable for their behavior, but the principles they maintain. This involved a reference to the general values, which did not justify the behavior of the individuals. The liberal style that was prevailing in the mid-twentieth century societies across the world infiltrated the essence of humanity on all aspects of life (Visker, 2007). As a result, the central aspect of modern liberty is based on existentialism that was tamed by some sense of accountability. The twentieth century humanity had to enjoy existentialist freedom, but exercise some sense of accountability, respect for each other, and clear guidelines relating to the extent of freedom enjoyment (Hufford, 2010). Summary In general, existentialism impacted the humanity of the twentieth century in many ways. It resulted in the expansion of free will in society, by underscoring the fact that human essence is determined by the life choices made by an individual. Additionally, that an individual exhibits his or her true nature when fraught against their own essence, fighting for survival; that decisions made by people are sometimes stressful and may result in unintended repercussions; that there are issues that do not count sane, hence should be evaluated and shunned by humanity; that individual responsibility and control of emotions is vital; that society is artificial and its conventional spiritual and worldly connotations are illogical; and that worldly aspirations would be untenable. The fundamental principles led to the establishment legal structures that allow for controlled enjoyment of freedom and tolerance in the twentieth century society (Visker, 2007; West, 2008). Conclusion The impact of twentieth century existentialism involved many theories, hence the lack of its proper connotation. Whereas the twentieth century existentialism was not directly linked to wealth, enjoyment, or respect, it contributed toward the development of the modern society, which supported the initiation of better life. It also upheld social values and practical control the members of a society to acknowledge what was meaningful to them. The twentieth century marked the beginning of a broad range of philosophical, spiritual, and political concepts that established existentialism so there was a general concurrence in an illogical set of values and principles. Although, politics was not the same within different countries or the general societies across the world, each was aimed at guaranteeing more freedom to the societies under their jurisdiction. Annotated Bibliography Visker, R. (2007). Was Existentialism Truly a Humanism? Sartre Studies International, 13(1), 3-15. The author explores the Jean-Paul Sartres philosophy on existentialism and the weaknesses of most of the philosophers of the twentieth century. Visker looks into the other theoretical likelihoods, which Sartre left out of his work, but are significant to the 20th century. He provides an important, well-balanced account of how extentialism is related to modern humanism. Dore, I. (2010). Pragmatic existentialism in a Post-Newtonian world. St. Louis University Law Journal, 54(4), 1277-1295. According to Dore (2010), the implementation of pragmatic existentialism is an imperative development in the contemporary society. The essay presents the connection of physical sciences and philosophy vis-à-vis to the resourceful and ethical values of the modern world, which is full of theoretical challenges and stiff competition for material resources. The author explores the new theoretical developments after Newton philosophies, thus its relevance to the 20th century humanism. West, A. (2008). Sartrean Existentialism and Ethical Decision-Making in Business. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(1), 15-25. West (2008) presents a broad range of well thought-out models, which he believes assist in achieving a breakthrough from ethical dilemmas in a contemporary workplace environment. The author presents options founded on normative moral tenets, essentially encompass fair-mindedness among decision-makers in a modern organization. Hufford, D. (2010).Education, Existentialism, and Freire: A Juxtaposition. Journal of Philosophy & History of Education, 60, 167-174. The article presents information on the ventilation of Existentialisms thoughts for the intention of and role in the modern learning process. Hufford looks into the key tenets of the Brazilian education system and its impact on the Latin American state. Brazil is one of the key emerging powers on virtually all fronts, including economy. References Dore, I. (2010). Pragmatic existentialism in a Post-Newtonian world. St. Louis University Law Journal, 54(4), 1277-1295. Hufford, D. (2010).Education, Existentialism, and Freire: A Juxtaposition. Journal of Philosophy & History of Education, 60, 167-174. Visker, R. (2007). Was Existentialism Truly a Humanism? Sartre Studies International, 13(1), 3-15. West, A. (2008). Sartrean Existentialism and Ethical Decision-Making in Business. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(1), 15-25. Read More