Existentialism: Core Tenets and Philosophers

• Existentialism emerged in the 20th century, closely tied to literature and the arts due to its focus on individual emotions rather than intellect.
• It is difficult to define, and Walter Kaufmann describes it as a label for revolts against traditional philosophy rather than a philosophy in itself.
• Many self-proclaimed "existentialists" have rejected the label, highlighting the diverse nature of the movement.
• Individualism is a central tenet, prioritizing individual purpose over universal purpose.

Core Tenets

• Refusal to belong to any specific school of thought.
• Rejection of philosophic systems and belief structures.
• Dissatisfaction with traditional philosophy, viewing it as superficial and detached from real life.
• It finds its roots in the works of Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who reacted against impersonalism in Christianity and speculative philosophy.
• Kierkegaard aimed to revitalize Christianity by emphasizing the individual's role and personal commitment.
• Nietzsche denounced Christianity, declared "the death of God," and promoted his concept of the "superman."
• Existentialism gained influence post-World War II, driven by a need for meaning after prolonged depression and global conflicts.
• Modern industrialism's dehumanizing impact further stimulated the existentialist search for meaning.

Key Figures

• Karl Jaspers
• Gabriel Marcel
• Martin Heidegger
• Jean-Paul Sartre
• Albert Camus
• It has generally avoided explicit educational practices, influenced by its focus on individuals rather than social groups.
• Exceptions to this include the works of Martin Buber, Maxine Greene, George Kneller, and Van Cleve Morris.
• It rejects philosophy primarily based on the intellect, deeming it a speculative activity detached from fundamental realities such as death, life, and freedom.
• Philosophy must be driven by passion to discover ultimate realities.
• Miguel de Unamuno criticized those who rely solely on their brains for philosophy, calling them "definition-mongers."
• It doesn't offer educators a set of rules or a program to be institutionalized, it provides a spirit and attitude for application in education.
• Existentialists don't typically use metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological terms, but they do have a specific viewpoint.

Reality as Existence

• Individual existence is the focal point.
• It contrasts with the neo-scholastic view that essence precedes existence.
• God had the idea of humanity (essence) before creating humans, according to neo-scholasticism.
• It reverses this priority, asserting that existence precedes essence.
• Individuals must define their "whatness" or essence after they already exist.
• People define their personal essence through the choices they make and the preferences they develop throughout life.
• Individuals realize they are what they choose to be.
• People are confronted with the necessity of making responsible choices in an existence they didn't choose.
• The focus of reality is within the individual human person.
• Each person is responsible for their own essence and faces realities such as life, death, and meaning.
• Philosophic systems, Christianity, realism, and pragmatism are viewed as ways to avoid the responsibility of individual choices.
• Jean-Paul Sartre stated that humans are indefinable at first and become something only through their actions and choices.
• He argued that there is no human nature, as there is no God to conceive it, emphasizing that humans are what they make themselves.
• Some existentialists embrace the idea that life doesn't need to make intellectual sense and might even be "absurd."

Truth as Choice

• The individual is the center of epistemological authority.
• Meaning and truth are not inherent in the universe but are given by individuals.
• People choose to believe what they want to believe, leading to varying interpretations of nature's "laws" throughout history.
• Knowledge resides in the individual self, which makes the ultimate decision about what is true.
• Truth is based on existential choice, which is based upon individual authority.
• Some Christian and Jewish philosophers and theologians have adopted existentialism, but they are not believers in the historical sense.
• They have made themselves the locus of authority.
• Traditional Hebraic-Christian views of revelation are affected, with the Bible seen as a series of "encounters" with God.
• Modern individuals can have encounters that are as valid as those of Moses, Abraham, or Paul.
• The meaning of scriptural authority is modernized and abolished in its traditional usage.

Values from the Individual

• Axiology is the focus, contrasting with metaphysics in traditional philosophy and epistemology in pragmatism.
• Like metaphysics focuses on "existence" and epistemology on "choice," life's concerns are bound to the individual's axiological interests as an existential chooser.
• Individuals must create values out of nothing, "condemned to be free" and responsible for their choices and actions.
• Carl Rogers noted that individuals cannot rely on the Bible, prophets, Freud, research, God's revelations, or the decisions of others.
• Individuals have personal experiences and private decisions which are authoritative.
• Each person has "no exit" from their freedom and responsibility, according to Sartre.
• There are no absolutes, and nobody dictates good conduct in ethics.
• Individuals must make their own ethical decisions and bear responsibility for them, without relying on external authority.
• Individuals can make harmful choices but can also make ethical choices to counteract them.
• Each person has the potential to improve, worsen, or destroy human existence.
• Living responsibly includes acting upon one's decisions to be true to oneself.
• Consequences of ethical convictions are not the main concern.
• Acting is important, regardless of the consequences.
• Sartre suggests asking, "What, here and now, would be the least phoney thing for me to choose?"
• Not acting is irresponsible and seeks a world without tension and anguish.
• Life necessitates tension as individuals act out their personal ethical convictions.
• Each individual is the ultimate judge of what is beautiful.
• No one can make aesthetic decisions for others.

Existentialism and Education

• Existentialists are disturbed by the educational establishment, seeing much of it as propaganda.
• Education often prepares students for consumerism or turns them into cogs in industrial technology and bureaucracy.
• Instead of fostering individuality and creativity, education stifles these attributes.
• The individual is the center of the educational endeavor.
• Van Cleve Morris claims that existentialist educational concern will help the individual self realize that:
  • They are a choosing agent and cannot avoid choosing their way through life.
  • They are free to set their life goals.
  • They are accountable for their choices as they live their life.
• The teacher's role is not cognitive transference or giving the "right" answers but helping students explore possible answers.
• Teachers will be concerned with each student's unique individuality and relate to them in an "I-Thou" relationship (Buber).
• Teachers treat students as individuals with whom they can personally identify, instead of filling them with knowledge.
• Teachers are "facilitators" (Rogers)
• Teachers respect emotional and irrational aspects of individuals
• Teachers lead them into self-understanding, and facing ultimate life questions.
• Teachers and students learn and share roles, increasing awareness of finding themselves in a mechanized world.

Curriculum and Methodology

• The curriculum is open to change, and student choice is a deciding factor in subject matter selection.
• Curricular flexibility exists as opposed to traditional hierarchies of subjects.
• Fundamentals of traditional education (the three R’s, science, and social studies) should be studied as the foundation for creative effort.
• These basic subjects should be presented in relation to the student’s affective development.
• The humanities offer insights into the major dilemmas of human existence, such as sex, love, hate, death, and disease.
• Any subject meaningful to an individual can be justified in the course of studies.
• Methodology has infinite possibilities, rejecting uniformity and advocating for many options for students.
• Options might be found in alternative schools, business, government, or personal affairs.
• Ivan Illich's "Deschooling Society" (1970) offers suggestions for educational variations.
• Criteria of methodology center around noncoerciveness and helping students find themselves.
• Prototypes include Carl Rogers’s "Freedom to Learn" (1969) and A. S. Neill’s "Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing" (1960).
• It is not concerned with the social policy of education or the school, emphasizing the individual rather than the social.

Critique and Perspective

• Pragmatism and existentialism reject a priori considerations and downplay metaphysical ultimates.
• Both are relativistic in values and truth, and humanistic or human-centered.
• Pragmatism bases its relativism and humanism on society, while existentialism stresses the individual.
• The teacher is seen as a guide or facilitator, and the curriculum should center around the needs of the child.
• Both reject the school's role as transmitting past knowledge.
• Pragmatism has had a larger impact on education, transforming schooling, while existentialism has influenced alternative education and humanism.
• Both are having a renewed impact through postmodernism.
• Pragmatism has brought philosophy down to earth, dealing with living issues and breaking the separation between academic formality and daily living.
• Pragmatism unifies the practical and theoretical in education and views it as a lifelong process.
• Existentialism revolts against materialism and conformity, emphasizing each individual’s alienation and need to face basic issues.
• Existentialism has led to self-examination.

Considerations for Christians

• Existential elements in early Christian theology differ from full-blown existential philosophy.
• Historic Christianity views these elements in a God-centered philosophic framework.
• Revelation is authoritative rather than experiential and relative
• Values are given by God rather than chosen by people.
• Christianity focuses on a transcendent God and the Bible's accurate revelation.
• Modern people believe the Bible is rooted in myth, losing their faith foundation.
• This leads to an ungrounded belief of “Christian existentialism,” likened to a “leap into nothingness" due to individual inadequacies.
• Albert Camus identifies this leap as "philosophical suicide." which is avoiding facing hopelessness.
• Key error lies in failing to discern between the "existential elements" of historic Christianity and existentialism as a philosophy.
• Religious existentialists use similar words as traditional Christianity but with different meanings, necessitating examination of philosophic roots.
• Christians generally find less appeal in pragmatism due to its naturalistic and humanistic nature.
• William James's "will to believe" argues that comforting doctrines are useful and valid.
• Christians agree that belief in God is comforting, but because God exists rather than because it makes people feel better.
• Modern philosophies can lead Christians to a heightened awareness of overlooked aspects of the biblical message.
• The individual Christian should utilize insights from modern philosophies to develop a personal philosophy of education rooted in the biblical worldview.
• It is not always possible or desirable to fit ourselves or philosophers into neat categories; these are merely labels.