This article raised many interesting concepts and was very thought-provoking. Before reading this article, I myself believed that to be an existentialist was not a good thing and that “ugliness is being identified as existentialism.” (2/18) However, the reasoning that Kaufman has used to support the beliefs of an existentialist is remarkable and I agree with many of his comments that he makes.
The main concept that Kaufman focuses on is existence comes before essence. This means that one must exist before being defined. Or better explained, “man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards!” (3/18) This is the argument that this whole article revolves around.
The first principle mentioned is: “Man is nothing else but that which he makes himself.” (4/18) I agree with this statement. Every human being is responsible for themselves and for their actions and hence whatever he does, thinks and feels defines him as a whole. If I have decided and talked about travelling to Argentina to acquire a special flower for my sister’s wedding, this is simply talk. If I actually commit the act and travel across the world to get these flowers, that portrays the love I have for my sister. That reflects a little bit of my personality.
This principle then links other beliefs like “What we choose is always the better; and nothing can be better for us unless it is better for all.” (4/18) After this statement, there was an example given about how committing yourself to your marriage, to your husband/wife, to your children is also committing yourself to the practice of monogamy. With this example, I was able to understand that whatever actions one does, influences society as a whole. This led to me to think about famous Hollywood stars fashioning certain images towards youth and adults. For instance, Miley Cyrus was recently pictured inhaling a substance with a bong. She had chosen to do this act and perhaps at first she thought this was her business and this would affect her and only her however, as a worldwide child loved fan, this has corrupted her image as “Hannah Montana”. By choosing to do this act, she is now responsible for whatever people may say about her because the action she has done has defined her in many children’s and parents eyes no matter what the circumstances were. Another example is shown in a movie, “John Tucker Must Die”, which demonstrates this belief exceptionally well. In one scene during the movie, John was caught humiliated wearing a red thong by his teachers and classmates. Yet as he continued to wear it to school the next day, due to high popularity status, his other classmates followed suit and soon guys wearing thongs were in fashion. Both these examples portray the immense effect that one action can influence in a society or class.
Finally, I want to discuss one more belief which revolves around God: “If God did not exist, everything would be permitted.” (6/18) I strongly believe in the existence of God and that the world would be in chaos and anarchy if God did not exist. Today, there are many scientists who believe the world will come to an end in 2012. At first, I did not believe it, I laughed when I heard this absurd theory. On the other hand, there are things happening which I believe are signs from God. Dead birds in some areas in the United States, dead penguins, snowstorms, floods are some examples of what is occurring. The existentialist does not believe in the power of passion. I am in opposition with this belief as I am a strong believer in fate. Existentialists believe that “Man himself interprets the sign as he chooses.” (7/18) From an existentialist’s view, the dead penguins and such can be interpreted in a completely different way. I do not know. I choose to not know, I choose to remain undecided with what all these happenings are supposed to mean. With this, I would like to conclude that existentialism is a wide and complex theory that till now I question. I ponder upon many principles and beliefs made by them yet, I choose to believe in some of them and to disagree with others. That is human subjectivity.
No comments:
Post a Comment