Philosophy of the Existentialists

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT EXISTENTIALISM

Existentialism, which spread rapidly over continental Europe after the first world war, is a movement of thought deriving from the immediacy of the problems of life. It is essentially the analysis of the condition of man, of the particular state of being free, and of man's having constantly to use his freedom in order to answer the ever-changing and unexpected challenges of the day. According to the Existentialists, the starting point for every philosophical investigation is concrete human existence -- the human personality in itself, my ego your "you" -- whose drama of life, brought under critical analysis, should point the way to the absolute value of reality. With Sartre, Existentialism has become atheistic and concrete existence has taken the place of traditional metaphysics.

The acute analysis to which Existentialism has subjected the human person reveals one undeniable fact: the weakness of man, who is burdened by the most galling contradictions. In the speculative sphere there is the desire to possess absolute knowledge -- but it is rendered vain by the constant presence of skeptical doubt; in the field of morality there is the desire for infinite happiness -- but it is rendered uncertain by the constant presence of evil; there is the desire for everlasting life -- but it is dashed to the depths by the ubiquitous presence of death.

Without doubt, this analysis, made within the limits of experience, is true; it finds corroboration in the entire course of human history, which has ever registered the same contradictions. Records of this problem are found in Job and in St. Augustine. But it is interesting -- and profitable -- to note that within the limits of philosophy left to its own devices there is no solution to the problem.

Existentialism, by pointing out these negative data, this problem without a solution, has the merit of being a good critic of modern Rationalism. For Hegel, the human person is a mere representation of the ego, a fleeting meteorite, without value or significance. Moreover, according to Hegel, the drama of life with its unsolved problems may be rationally coordinated in history -- for a superior kind of optimism is found in history, which is the record of God living in humanity; in history all contradictions are reconciled.

In opposition to this Rationalism which attempts to nullify the value of the human person and to resolve the contradictions of concrete life in an abstract view of history, Existentialism has called attention to the value of the individual and has sought a solution to the inescapable problems of the person confronted by an abstraction which nullifies instead of solves.

But it is also noteworthy that criticism alone is not sufficient for establishing a system of metaphysics. Having exposed the negative part of human existence, Existentialism should then propose positive teaching, that is, set up a rational doctrine concerning being, God, man, knowledge, freedom, society, art. Such an exposition, at least until now, has not been worked out by the Existentialists, not even by those who affirm their belief in God. Thus contemporary Existentialism seems to offer a problem without a solution, a drama without a conclusion.

In the history of thought, Existentialism represents the contemporary crisis of society following upon two world wars in which millions of human beings were destroyed, seemingly in vain; it expresses the dissatisfaction over the inadequacy of economic goods needed to meet growing demands and the skepticism resulting from materialistic philosophies.

All Existentialists like to speak of being. But, for them, being is something immediate, something which is felt in the obscurity of sentiment. Being is, for them, undefinable, unknowable, unattainable. Clearly it is impossible to construct an efficient metaphysics on the basis of such obscurity and confusion.

The most important expressions of Existentialism are found in Germany and France. German Existentialism is represented by three thinkers: Barth, Heidegger, and Jaspers. Their common source of inspiration is Kierkegaard's thought, of which there was revival in Germany shortly after World War I. Heidegger and Jaspers are also dependent upon some significant motives found in the writings of Nietzsche. Heidegger felt, in addition, the influence of his teacher, Husserl.

The rise of French Existentialism is independent of that of German Existentialism, just as the content of the one is independent of the content of the other. German thinkers except for Jaspers remain immersed in an immanentist conception, whereas most French thinkers rise to the transcendence of God, according to the traditional spiritualism of their country. Representative of French Existentialism are Gabriel Marcel, Rene Lesenne, Louis Lavelle, and Jean-Paul Sartre.