Existentialism

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Existentialism

• The Courage to Be

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Existentialism

• As a philosophical movement Existentialism
  emphasizes-
• Individual existence
• Personal freedom
• Authentic choice

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Existentialism

• Ontology
• Reality is subjective, Truth is relative
• Epistemology
• We learn by making authentic choices
• Anxiety comes with the total freedom of choice
• To refuse to choose authentically is to live in
  bad faith.
• Axiology
• no universal, rational judgment between right and
  wrong.
• To do good is to act in good faith
• To do bad is to act in bad faith

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Philosophers described as Existentialists

• Soren Kierkegaard
• 1813-1855
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• 1843-1900
• Jean-PaulSartre
• 1905-1980

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Soren KierkegaardReligious Existentialism

• Kierkegaard stressed the ambiguity and absurdity
  of the human situation
• An individual must live a totally committed life,
  which is only understood by the individual
• He advocated a leap of faith into Christianity
• Although Christianity is incomprehensible, it is
  the only commitment that will save an individual
  from complete and utter despair.

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Friedrich NietzscheAtheistic Existentialism

• God is Dead
• All external authority blinds the individual to
  authentic choice
• The Judeo-Christian moral code keeps the
  individual from assuming full responsibility for
  his or her decisions
• The Scientific assumption of an orderly universe
  is a useful fiction that hides the
  meaninglessness of existence

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John-Paul SartreExistentialism as a Philosophy

• He wrote the first work that attempted to make
  Existentialism into a coherent philosophy in 1943
• It was written in response to the absurdity of
  World War II
• He argued that humans beings need a rational
  basis for their lives so they developed
  systematic philosophies
• but this is impossible to achieve. The human life
  is a futile passion.

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John-Paul Sartreexistence precedes essence

• We exist first and then we need to create our
  essential being
• Existential dread- the cry in the night
• By refusing to accept full responsibility for who
  we are and the decisions we make, we act in bad
  faith

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Living an Authentic Life

• Authentic existence (essence) can only be
  achieved by those who actively seek to discover
  purposefulness for their existence
• This happens by making independent choices and
  assuming responsibility for consequences
• It is not a natural flow is easily stifled by
  outside influences

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Obstacles to Authenticity

• 1) Unawareness
• Awareness can be stifled through conformity
  during the formative years
• Students not allowed to make choices are denied
  the opportunity to accept responsibility for
  their choices
• 2) Fear
• Individual fear of accepting the burden of
  responsibility
• To refuse to choose is to make a choice

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Implications for Education

• The learner should feel valued as an individual
  and encouraged to develop his or her personal
  style and creativity.
• Existentialist educators are generally against
  the concept of teaching as showing, guiding, or
  directing
• Rather, the teacher should prize the learner
  and make the learner feel worthwhile.

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Teacher Contamination

• Teachers who fail to recognize that reality is
  experienced subjectively will likely impose on
  their students an external reality, one
  contaminated by personal and societal biases
• -Gary Hunter

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Encouraging the Pursuit of Authenticity

• Teachers must celebrate student authenticity and
  what existentialists call the courage to be
• Teachers should help students internalize the
  world and make it their own
• Teachers must strive to reach each student
  individually, although each comes from different
  backgrounds and experiences

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Cultivating Creativity

• Allow students to make their own choices about
  individual projects
• Suggest projects that encourage the imagination\
• Put student work on display for other students
  and teachers to see

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Addressing the courage to be

• Make students responsible for completing their
  work on time- use contracts
• Have students decide classroom rules with the
  understanding they will be responsible for
  following them
• Let students choose personal ways to express
  themselves

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Why Should We Encourage Students to Follow Lead
Authentic Lives?

• How many times have we read or heard about
  successful writers, athletes, musicians, or
  artists who rejected attempts by parents,
  teachers, counselors, and peers to dictate and
  control their destinies by insisting that they
  pursue a more conventional line of work? What
  would the destinies of these successful people
  have been had they succumbed to these external
  influences? (Hunter).