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Key ideas regarding Existentialismat least, Sartres favor o the philosophy

1. Existence precedes essence. In other words, we create meaning rom or lives as

we live. !oesnt sond li"e mch o a "ey idea, does it# $owever, lets rephrase the

statement. Its saying that there is no grand plan or s %eore we were %orn, and there is

no grand plan or s as we live. &o entity has a roadmap laid ot or s. In act, the

amos phrase 'I thin", thereore I am,( o)ered %y !escartes, is trned arond. Sartre

wold say, 'I am, and then I thin".(

*. Freedom. In every aspect o or lives, we have choices. +e can choose whether to wear

the %le shirt or the green whether to attend school whether to "ic" the dog, ignore him,

or hg him whether to drive *- mph or 1/ mph on the highway. Even when society

arges against or choice 0or legislates against or choice, it is still or choice.

2. Angst. +e eel angst when we %ecome aware o or complete reedom. Sre, there are

laws, and there are cltral codes, %t we have the reedom to ollow themor not. Even

when or cltre tries to tell s that we dont have the choice, we still do. 3nd that

"nowledge is scary, %ecase we have complete control over orselves.

4. Authenticity. I we accept or reedom, and we ma"e conscios choices a%ot or

actions, then we are living athentic lives. So, consider the ollowing example5 we help

the lady across the street %ecase society tells s to. 6his is an inauthenticresponse. 7t

when we help the lady across the street %ecase we choose to, we have completed an

authenticresponse.

-. Despair. 8ost o s, when as"ed to descri%e who we are, start with a series o la%els5

stdent, child, athlete. 7t existentialists arge that or identity does not actally depend

on those la%els, that or identity is %ased on the choices we ma"e and have made. Sowhen we rely too heavily on the la%els, we are either in potential despair, or actal

despair. 6hin" o the star %as"et%all player who de9nes hersel %y her a%ility to dri%%le

and shoot a %all. :ne torn 3;< and a %otched srgery later, she is experiencing despair.

She has de9ned hersel %y a term, %t %ecase she no longer l9lls those terms, she has

no sel=de9nition.

>. The Look. 6oo oten, we depend on others to de9ne orselves. +e depend on something

or someone otside o orselves to esta%lish or identity. ;onsider the example o a %ody

%ilder. !oes he de9ne himsel as 'msclar( i no one sees his physi?e# $e needs

someone to see him in order to eel that he exists. Existentialism arges that we shold

do or %est to not depend on 6he

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athentic i yo are doing something or the sole prpose o impressing others or i it is a

societal constraint.