Existentialism

Image cited in The Irish Times, 2014

Recently, I have read an article from HK01 related to existentialism (存在主義), which I think is quite relevant to the theme of my project.

Existentialism, an essential cultural movement in the 20th century, criticizes the problem of being. Jean-Paul Sartre, who is a French philosopher also one of the key figures in the theory, emphasize that ‘existence precedes essence’ (存在先於本質). When applies in human beings, it means everyone is an individual. All our minds or morality are born from existence. There is no such a particular rule to define an individual. Hence, the predominant value of existentialism believes human have the freedom to choose, and must to choose in order to construct oneself. In other words, if we need to judge others, we should focus on her action, her decision or her choice.

The independent concept in existentialism is to a certain degree connected to my project that human should not be born with any rules. Most of the time, people tend to judge one person by using her personal and subjective experience. Once the choice is different from the ‘common’ cognition, it classifies as a strange attractor and is therefore exclude her existence. It follows an unspoken rule in the society and courses our loss of control of ourselves. Consequently, I hope to develop more 1) the mode of being, 2) the relationship between freedom and choice and 3) our role in the society throughout the project.

References:

1. Jean-Paul, S. (1943). Being and Nothingness. Éditions Gallimard, Philosophical Library https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2bf509_fb5ce7fc2af54737995738eaef8a297c.pdf

2. Sartre, J. P., & Mairet, P. (1965). Existentialism and humanism (p. 28). London: Methuen.

3. Steven C. (2004, Auguest 23). Existentialism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved on 14 October, 2018, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/