Lesson 3.5- EXISTENTIALISM

EXISTENTIALISM

• Man has no fixed nature and he shapes his being as he lives.
• The philosophy that places emphasis on individual existence, freedom, and choice.
• Sees the world as a personal subjectivity, where goodness, truth and reality are individually defined.
• Reality is a world of things, truth subjectivity chosen, and goodness comes from group decisions.

·       Existentialism is about being saint without God; being your own hero, without all the sanction and support of religion or society.
·       Existentialism, broadly defined, is a set of philosophical systems concerned with a free will, choice, and personal responsibility.
·       There are no “universal” guidelines for most  decisions.
·       Existentialism takes into consideration the underlying concepts:
·       Human free will
·       Human nature is chosen through life choices
·       A person is best when struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life
·       Decisions are not without stress and consequences.

• There are things that are not rational
• Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial.
• Society is unnatural and its traditional religious and secular rules arbitrary
• Worldly desire is futile

·       Existentialism is a broadly defined in a variety of concepts and there can be no one answer as to what it is, yet it does not support  the following:
·       Wealth, pleasure, or honor make the good life
·       Social values and structure control the individual
·       Accept what is and that is enough in life
·       Science can and will make everything better.
·       People are basically good but ruined by society or external forces.
·       “I want my way, now!” or “It is not my fault! mentality
·       Soren Kierkegaard-(1813-1855) – Father of Existentialism.
·       His philosophy can be seen in his doctrine that there are three stages of life experience:

• Aesthetic
•  Ethical
• Religious

NATURE

• Focuses on the experiences of the individuals.
• Offers individuals a way of thinking about the meaning of life.

EXISTENTIAL THEMES

·       1.Existence precedes essence
·       2. Anxiety and anguish
·       3. Absurdity
·       4. Nothingness
·       5. Death

ASSUMPTION

·       Existence precedes essence.
·       -in other words, you need existence to have essence. There is no predetermined “true” thing, it has to already exist in order to become what it is.

EDUCATIONAL AIM

• To train individual for significant and

·       meaningful existence.

• Synthesis and Implications to Education:

·       -The classroom is a free market of ideas and as such it must guarantee complete freedom of thought for the individual.
·       -The student is encouraged to make independent decisions to guarantee authentic existence.

CURRICULAR EMPHASIS

·       Subject-centered
·       Literature
·       History
·       Arts for Aesthetic expression
·       Humanities for ethical values

TEACHING METHODS

·       Inquiry Approach
·       Question-Answer Method
·       Experimentation
·       Self- expressive activities
·       ROLE OF TEACHERS
·       Good provider of experiences
·       Effective questioner
·       Mental disciplinarian
·       ROLE OF THE STUDENT
·       Determines own rule

ROLE OF SCHOOL

·       Create an atmosphere for active interaction.
·       Plan better solutions to their everyday problems
·       Discuss the different situations based by an individual