What is the meaning of life?
There isn’t any.
Who is there for you?
Absolutely no one.
Why are we here?
We will never know…
And we should not care
We give our life its meaning
We decide what we want to do
We make our own rules
Rules of society do not apply
You are your own self
You are free.
I have to say, i love the idea of existentialism. I completely agree with the entire philosophy, depressing as it may be. It is true that this is basically saying we can go out on a killing spree and there would be no retribution in the end, but the fact of the matter is, no one would want to. I mean, I'm sure theres a few people in the world that would use this to their advantage, but for the vast majority of us, why would we? It wouldn't make us feel better or help us in any way. Humans, as a whole, are rather selfish people, and therefore would not do this. It's interesting to wonder what the world would be like if everyone was an existentialist. The world will probably be a lot happier. You may argue that if everyone does just what they want, then we wouldn't get anywhere but i'd have to disagree. There are always going to be people that dream of being teachers or successful business people or a leader in politics. The world would function as it does now but instead of being pushed by the pressure of parents or the want of money, it's our choice. Do we want to do this? Will we be happy with this decision?
As much as I agree with this philosophy, this also says we don't have a god to look to and while that may be true, humans are emotional beings. I think its okay to believe in God, because when there's nothing else to fall back on, there's God. We all need something to believe in when we have nothing left.
These philosophical ideas very rarely influence the way people live. There are some highly religious people for whom their entire lives are framed by their faith. But, for most people, it is an external abstraction, and you wouldn't know the most devout from the most atheistic based upon their quotidian existence.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with E. as you point out obliquely is that it is based upon reliance on reason. But, E. posits that Man is an irrational being. So, in the end reason will fail us, and we will seek a firmer bastion. For many, this fortress will be God. Of course, that is not the greatest argument for His/Her existence.