List and discuss some beliefs that are commonly held in society but are unjustified to existentialists and violate "existence precedes essence". These beliefs will be ones that individuals believe are conditional to being human, however because the universe is inherently meaningless and absurd such beliefs are unfounded. -It's a human's responsibility to have children. -People must behave as their gender dictates. That they must be what it means to be a man/woman -People must "act their age" -"It is my destiny to ______" (this one is also opposed by the concept of existential despair) Post yours! Challenge mine!
I'm not wrong to expect people posting in the existentialist forum to know what it means. You could have easily used wikipedia. Anyway it means that: first we exist (are born) and then our lives are given essence, meaning and purpose by ourselves, as opposed to us coming into a world with inherent and predetermined purpose, meaning and essence of life that we're expected to adhere to by society, god, etc. 46 words!
Bravo! Too serious too young. I was reading Sartre and Camus before you were born. In French by the way. It was supposed to be a joke.
Unjustified, or unjustifiable? Because I think a lot of these beliefs are justifiable. I guess whether they are justified depends on who is in charge of declaring the validity or invalidity of those justifications. Far as I can see, if humans live in societies, then there are reasons for societies to hold those beliefs. We may not agree with those reasons, or that they are no more right that any other or can be used to justify just about anything else. But the reasons remain. Rationality is not a way of life available to human beings, and those who consider themselves "rational" tend to prove this.
Right now I'm reading an essay called Marxism versus Existentialism because I know that Sartre had a kind of love hate relationship with the works of Marx. I will comment on that when I've read it and thought about it. As regards the "existence precedes essence" quote, you'll get no argument from me on the basic responsibility we have to take for our own lives.
Okay. There are no reasons for these beliefs. They do nothing to benefit or harm society in a tangible way and yet they can be harmful to the individual that they are imposed upon. They are unjustified. The ones who are in charge of such declarations of validity are existentialists, as I was speaking to existentialists in the existentialist forum.
Ah. So they're unjustified and unjustifiable from an existentialist perspective, rather than just unjustified and unjustifiable.
Oh boy, that one is one of my pet peeves. I can see why a frustrated parent might say that to an irritating teenager who is regressing into greater immaturity than usual, but it has no meaningful application to anyone else. I can think of no justifiable logic for imposing this concept on adults, yet it happens all the time. :toetap05: The ability to play is an important tool for managing the negative effects of stress and finding joy in life.
