First Principle of Existentialism

1
First Principle of Existentialism

• Man is nothing else but what he makes of
  himself (3).
• There is no human nature
• Human beings are projects that propel themselves
  toward a future that they help create
• A human being is responsible for the entirety of
  his or her existence

2
Living Authentically Positivity in a Sea of
Seeming Depression

• A focus of existentialist literature
• Well, not all existentialist literature
• Most focuses on the despair and anguish
  experienced by humans
• More positive in nature and tone
• The ability of humans to create own meaning
• Claim meaning in an absurd world
• Consciousness
• Freedom!

3
Albert Camus

• 1913-1960
• French novelist, journalist, and playwright
• Born in Algiers (North Africa)
• Part of the French Resistance
• Wrote The Stranger and The Plague
• Absurdity of mans life
• Meaninglessness of death
• Fight against evil, suffering, and death

4

• Won Nobel Prize for Literature
• Wasnt crazy about it, but didnt pass it up
• Highest honor in the world in writing
• Killed in car accident
• Height of his literary career

5

• Camus believed that we should realize that life
  is meaningless and nevertheless keep living. If
  we are able to do this, we may be considered
  absurd heroes.
• Absurd heroes see life as a constant struggle,
  without hope.
• If happiness is real, we must find it without
  hope, faith, or anything besides immediate
  experience.

6
The Scream Edvard Munch

• Which idea of existentialism might this famous
  painting represent?

7

• I was walking along a path with two friendsthe
  sun was settingsuddenly the sky turned blood
  redI paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on
  the fencethere was blood and tongues of fire
  above the blue-black fjord and the citymy
  friends walked on, and I stood there trembling
  with anxietyand I sensed an infinite scream
  passing through nature.
• -Munchs inspiration for the painting as
  expressed in his diary headed Nice 22.01.1892

8
Monk by the Sea Caspar David Friedrich

• How can you relate this painting to
  existentialist ideas?