How to Live Like An Existentialist

Originating in the 1900th century, Existentialism is a movement championed by such key thinkers as Sartre, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, which posits that in the absence of a higher being, it is the responsibility of the individual to derive their own meaning from life in order to transcend its essentially absurd nature. Many believe that Existentialism is a philosophy of despair, but understood correctly, it can be a morally gratifying lifestyle which allows the individual to shape their own path to wisdom and success.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An open mind
• A willingness to embrace existence.
• A sense of accountability for your decisions.

Living Like An Existentialist

1. Acknowledge that in a world of doubt and uncertainty the fact you can be most sure of--even more so than the reality of consciousness--is your own existence. This is a basic step in defining yourself as an existentialist, in other words, someone who believes fundamentally in certainty of existence. This is made clear by Heidegger, who asserts that consciousness intrinsically requires one to be conscious of “something.” This “something,” Heidegger explains, is your own “being in the world” or existence.

2. Populate your life with meaning. Once you understand that existence is certain, it becomes necessary to begin populating your life with meaning. Another key concept to adopt as an existentialist is “existence precedes essence” or that being human (existing as it were) precedes any meaning that life may hold. Therefore, as you grow you must actively begin to provide your own life with meaning and direction, rather than assuming it has been bestowed on you from a higher power.

3. Take action. In order to populate your life with meaning you must now take action. As an essentially free entity, you are responsible for not only your individual choices, but the obligation you have been given to make them. Note that with each choice you make you come one step closer to defining your own existence.

4. Realize you live in an irrational world. Now that you understand that you are an individual who is obligated to make decisions which define their existence, it is important to realize that you live in an irrational world and any attempt to impose a structure onto it places you in what Sartre calls “bad faith.” By understanding that the world is characterized by a lack of order and an absurd nature, we can begin to abandon rationality which causes us to remain trapped in our everyday experience and instead awaken to the power of our own freedom.