Philosophy of Existentialism

PHILOSOPHY

OF

EXISTENTIALISM

INTRODUCTION

Existentialism is a way of philosophizing that

may lead those who adopt it to a different

conviction about the world and man’s life in it. It

is mainly a European philosophy that originated

before the turn of the twentieth century, but

became popular after World War II (1939-1945).

The seeds of existentialism may be traced back to

an earlier period of the history of philosophy.

FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH

1. Existence precedes Essence:

• This philosophy begins from man, but from

man as existent rather than man as a thinking

subject, having a definite nature or essence. A

man first exists, encounters himself, and

defines himself afterwards. Existence comes

before man is set with value or essence

Importance of Subjectivity:

• The Danish philosopher S Kierkegaard has said

that truth is subjective, truth is subjectivity:

objectivity and abstraction are hallucinations.

Existentialism is the philosophy of subject

rather than of the object.

Man’s Freedom:

• The basic feature of human person is his

freedom.

Criticism of Idealism:

• Existentialism has emerged and developed as a

reaction against idealism. Existentialist

philosophers are highly critical of idealism and

conceptualism.

Criticism of Naturalism:

• The existentialist philosophers are also critical

of the philosophy of naturalism. According to

naturalists, life is subject to physic – bio –

chemical laws, which in turn, are subject to the

universal law of causation.

Criticism of Scientific Culture:

• With tremendous progress in science and

technology, rapid industrialization and

urbanization have taken place

Attention on Human Weakness and

Security:

• In this scientific life of today, the individual is

leading a life of tension, worries, frustrations,

fear and sense of guilt. His individuality is

getting continually blundered; therefore for

security of individuality the individual should

be given an environment free of worries,

anxieties and tension.

CHIEF EXPONENTS OF EXISTENTIALISM

• Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

Is regarded as the father of modern Existentialismand is the first European Philosopher who bears theexistentialist label.

• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Is regarded as a key figure in the rise ofexistentialism. According to him Christianity is tobe overcome by putting in its place the doctrine ofsuperman, that is, man surpassing himself.

• Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)

In his book being and time, gave a very

impressive analysis of human existence, the

prominence of the important themes of

existentialism like care, anxiety, guilt and above

all death is brought out here.

• Jean – Paul Sarte

Stressed that man’s existence precedes his

essence. “Man is nothing else but what he

purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes

himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum

of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.”

Educational Philosophy

of

Existentialism

The object of education is to give man the unity of

truth… In the field of education the contribution of

existentialism is as follows:

The aim of Education

Total Development

Subjective Knowledge

Importance of Environment

Child – Centered Education

Curriculum

Learning Experiences

The Teacher

The Student

Religious and Moral Education

Existentialist believe that the most important

kind of knowledge is about the human condition

and the choices that each person has to make, and

that education is a process of developing

consciousness about the freedom to chose and the

meaning of responsibility for one’s choices.

The Aim of Education

The existentialists have aimed at total

development of personality through education.

Education should aim at the whole man.

Total Development

The existentialists rightly, point out that

subjective knowledge is even more important than

objective knowledge.

Subjective Knowledge

The present industrial, economic, political

and social environment is valueless. Therefore, it

helps confusion and corruption, tensions and

conflicts.

Importance of Environment

Existentialist education is child – centered. It

gives full freedom to the child. The teacher should

help the child to know himself and recognize his

being.

Child – Centered Education

CurriculumExistentialists prefer to free learners to choose

what to study and also determine what is true and

by what criteria to determine these truths.

The curriculum would avoid systematic

knowledge or structured disciplines, and the

students would be free to select from many

available learning situations.

Learning ExperiencesAn existentialist curriculum would consist of

experiences and subjects that lend themselves to

philosophical dialogue and acts of choice making.

Religious and Moral Education

The existentialists particularly lay emphasis

upon religion and moral education. Religion allows

a person to develop himself. Religious education

gives him an understanding of his existence in the

cosmos. It shows the religious path of self –

realization.

The Teacher

According to the existentialists the teachercreates an educational situation in which thestudent may establish contact with Himself,become conscious of it and achieve self –realization.

The Student

The student should feel completely free forrealizing his ‘self’. Under the guidance of theteacher, the student should try to realize his ‘self’through introversion.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Some critics (maybe traditionalists or

conservatives) claim that existentialism as

philosophy for the schools has limited application.

Schooling is a process that limits students’

freedom and that is based on adult authority and on

the norms and beliefs of the mass or common

culture. The individual existentialist, exerting his

or her will and choice will encounter difficulty in

school – and in other large, formal organizations.

SUMMARY

Philosophy and education are two sides of the

same coin, and thus different philosophies bring

out a different facet of education and as education

can change the philosophy of man and his life.

Existentialism as a philosophical idea was

revolutionary, dynamic and passionate; it changed

the way of thinking and bring to forefront the

cause of individualism. Moreover, its views on

education may seem dramatic but taken in right

sense and moderation is necessary in today’s

materialistic society.

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