Existentialism in Literature
Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The term "existentialism" refers to a literary movement of the mid-twentieth
century which holds that man has complete freedom to determine his own
fate. The actions he chooses in fact determine his existence. Existentialists
believe that a particular individual is not the way he is because God made
him that way, or because he is part of a great human community with
common characteristics. He is the way he is because -- thats how he is. He
is an individual; he is unique and independent. His destiny is his own, his
choices are his own to make, and he should make the choices that are right
for him. No general rules apply. It is this singular individuality, in fact, that
allows him to exist at all. Although existentialists tend to have as many
areas of disagreement as agreement, the concept of "existence before
essence" is relatively universal.
Another relatively universal point is that a person who is unaware of his
"essence" -- in other words, a person who is not conscious of his own
freedom to choose the path he follows, and who is not sufficiently selfactualized to choose that path freely -- can not really be said to exist.
Existence, for the existentialist, implies not only awareness of existence but
of its implications.
Existentialist literature deals extensively with the theme of alienation,
because existentialists believe that each individual human being is
fundamentally alone. Ones essential lack of communion with others makes
the individual ultimately responsible for his or her own decisions. For this
reason, the existentialist avoids doctrine and ideology, but holds to a few
basic tenets.
First, existentialists seek to avoid intruding on the lives and "boundaries" of
others. Since there is no such thing as absolute right or wrong, one has no
business telling others how to behave, or imposing standards from outside
that the individual should develop for himself.
Secondly, existentialism disavows a sense of "pattern" in the universe, a
grand scheme in which we all play a part. There is no ultimate meaning,
they argue; all people have to forge their own meaning for themselves, and
therefore one persons decisions have no cosmic interrelationship with
anothers.
Therefore, creativity is prized much more highly than conformity, since a
creative (and unorthodox) approach to lifes problems implies that one is
grappling with them in an individualized way. Effort is prized much more
highly than skill, for skill derives from having done something the same way
repeatedly, and since no two problems are exactly alike, treating them as if
they were is ineffective. Sincerity, self-analysis, and conviction,
existentialists feel, is all one can expect with regard to ethical decisions,
because there are no absolute standards of morality to which people can
turn.
Ultimately, the most common denominator of existentialists is a rejection of
authority. The only authority which any person has is himself; he is
answerable only to himself as well. The existentialist teacher attempts to
inculcate his pupils with a sense of their own autonomy, as well as giving
them tools they can use to forge their own set of moral principles and define
their own destiny. The existentialist political leader (if such a thing can be
imagined) delegates responsibility back onto the shoulders of the people
involved, helping them to recognize that they alone are responsible for
themselves. In general, existentialists avoid positions of power because
authoritarianism conflicts with their basic views of life.
The fact that existentialists stubbornly insist on the primacy of the individual
self does not mean they are selfish, immoral, or uncaring. They tend to be
deeply compassionate people, because they care for their fellow man out of
sincere altruism and not because they think God expects it of them. They
also tend to be extremely moral, because they have given a great deal of
thought to their system of ethics (much more, in fact, than most people do).
Existentialism has played a significant role in the twentieth century as
humanity struggles to come to grips with new challenges. The threat of
sudden nuclear destruction; the overwhelming loss of community brought
about by increased social mobility; the disintegration of the family -- all have
reinforced mans sense of alienation and fear. Existentialism, which freely
admits these situations and offers no palliative, has been considered to be a
rather dismal philosophy for dismal times.
But in fact it is not. It simply relocates the burden of responsibility back onto
some rather uncomfortable shoulders -- our own -- and asserts that only
through our own self-actualization and self-determination will we actually be
able to look at the problem realistically, without doctrine, dogma, or
ideology, and forge some solutions that work for us. Although many people
attribute to the humanism inherent in existentialist literature a devaluation
of "traditional moral values" and the centrality of God, existentialists see in
their creative and deeply sincere approach to the study and practice of
ethics a new ray of hope for humanity.
