PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE This weeks philosophical perspective is focusing on existentialism. The existentialist paradigm is one of the comtemporary ways of understanding philosophy which constitutes a new view of philosophy. The existentialists think that traditional philosophy is full of abstractions, arguments, and discursions far removed from the real and concrete problems of the contemporary man. Existentialism as a movement is traced back to Soren Kierkegaard(1813-1855) and Friedrich Nietzche. Kierkegaard, a Danish theologian was writing mainly within the framework of christainity, and essentially against excessive intellectualism. He posited that truth, christainity or of any other kind, is subjective and grows out of the deepest longing of the human heart. The existentialist philosophy is therefore based on the subjectivity of truth. Christainity according to kierkegaard could not be understood by reason. People believe in Christ not because they rationally argue that he died on the cross for the redemption of the sins of humanity, but out of despair and deepest longing of the hearth for truth. To separate them from the dry land and darkness and usher them into freedom. Jean-paul Sartre in his positive response to existentialsm, was interested in freedom. In his view, freedom does not bring in happiness to man. It merely endows him with a sense of responsibility. And until these responsibilities are met, man is not happy, this is because his own freedom depends upon the freedom of the people around him and the freedom of the people depends on his freedom. Therefore, truth is subjective and not necessarily rational, and this truth brings freedom while freedom brings responsibility, and responsibility when met, brings happiness.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:05:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015