My Existential Confession

NHB7 · 10-25-2007, 02:07 AM

I have read Nietchze (SP?), Heidagaar (SP?). Kierkagaard (SP?), Camus etc. Shit, even there names are hard to spell!! I have not read an existentialist philosopher that has really broken down the philosophy into simple terms. Granted, I think I can and I'm sure I have read this somewhere so my statement is not totally true, but the general premise is that we are responsible for determining our own destinies and we realize that when we live authentic lives. And yet there are gigantic books about this topic that go into extreme depth with countless words that I don't understand even after I look up there abstract definitions. I wish someone would dumb it down, but then I realized, perhaps it is impossible to dumb-it-down and maintain its integrity. That idea scares me because then it means it is a concept that is just out of my intellectual grasp! I want to understand it!

Anyone want to take a go at it for me. You don't have to explain it to me. Just consider this an existential thread. You can talk about any topic related to existentialism you want and elaborate on it.

magicman531 · 10-25-2007, 02:12 AM

I'm like you. I've read a bunch of crap on it... But I still haven't been able to completely understand it fully. From my initial readings of the philosophy, it appears to be pretty negative. I could be wrong though.

NHB7 · 10-25-2007, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicman531

I'm like you. I've read a bunch of crap on it... But I still haven't been able to completely understand it fully. From my initial readings of the philosophy, it appears to be pretty negative. I could be wrong though.

I've heard that is the general sense one feels during the intial readings of it, but that a deeper understanding reveals a more powerful sense of self accountability and presumably happiness. I'm nuetral on it right now.

magicman531 · 10-25-2007, 02:42 AM

I just know, that of the people who were self professed existentialists, they seemed pretty down trodden. Charles Schulz the creator of peanuts was very unhappy for example. To hear some of his comments he made later in life is pretty shocking. Basically he thought his whole life was a waste. Even after having the most successful comic strip ever, raising a family, and living out his childhood dream.

Submission Machine · 10-25-2007, 02:45 AM

imo philosophy doesn't transform your life. it's ideas that ppl play around with... but one can go on theorizing forever and not get anywhere.

knowledge is what you get from knowing information. wisdom is the application of knowledge.

just my 2 cents. i'm not trying to offend anyone.

NHB7 · 10-25-2007, 02:46 AM

Yes, that is one thing that scares me about existentialism. I feel like it really is touching upon something powerful that as a person taht wants to progress I should learn, but I certainly would rather be ignorant and happy then informed and depressed at least as it relates to existentialism.

magicman531 · 10-25-2007, 02:47 AM

Many things in life are "useless." However if you enjoy researching them, find it interesting, then in a sense it does get you somewhere. Reading a new philosophy can open you up so you're able to see things in a new light and transform yourself.

magicman531 · 10-25-2007, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHB7

Yes, that is one thing that scares me about existentialism. I feel like it really is touching upon something powerful that as a person taht wants to progress I should learn, but I certainly would rather be ignorant and happy then informed and depressed at least as it relates to existentialism.

You could learn about it, just not apply it. Information in and of itself doesn't hurt.

NHB7 · 10-25-2007, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Submission Machine

imo philosophy doesn't transform your life. it's ideas that ppl play around with... but one can go on theorizing forever and not get anywhere.

knowledge is what you get from knowing information. wisdom is the application of knowledge.

just my 2 cents. i'm not trying to offend anyone.

I think what you say is true, but I think that philosophy is an attempt to make coherent incoherency, to give you a foundation from which to make sense of the knowledge you have. A better springboard from which to apply that knowledge. But one thing i have certainly seen is that some people do have knowledge but do not know how to apply it. That is sad. Really smart people that make nothing of their lives.

**GermanBJJ** · 10-25-2007, 02:49 AM

Simple Version: There were these people who thought the world was ruled by some universal nature. Let's call these people rationalists/empiricists. Then the existentialists came along and said those people are wrong. The only real meaning in the world is that which people create for themselves. Some of them went so far as to put great value in the irrational (Kierkegaard with Faith and Nietzsche with the Dionysian.) The end.