Foremost Italian Existentialist philosopher. Examples of human rights are the right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to education. (3) That investigation is continually faced with diverse possibilities, from among which the existent (i.e., the human individual) must make a selection, to which he must then commit himself. The linguistic differences, however, are not decisive for a determination of philosophical affinities. Today is National Voter Registration Day! Philosophy seeks to understand reality in its totality and ultimate value, while According to existentialism: (1) Existence is always particular and individual—always my existence, your existence, his existence, her existence. Thus, the significance of this work can be outline as follows: In order to give this work its required philosophical grounding, the researcher made wide consultation of research materials on Kierkegaard. [w]e were created not by a supernatural intelligence but by chance and necessity as one species out of millions of species in Earth's biosphere. Thereby justifying the rationale behind this research bearing in mind it impact in awakening the contemporary man to the reality of himself as an existing being. Alone and headed for our inevitable death. But this independence is simply an illusion, he thinks, and we are bound by our anatomy and physiology. That diversity was rooted, at least in part, in the diversity of sources on which existentialism draws. (2) Existence is primarily the problem of existence (i.e., of its mode of being); it is, therefore, also the investigation of the meaning of Being. Therefore, man must be at its best to be able to exercise such responsibility. In his reaction, Kierkegaard built his philosophical thoughts in such a manner that, it fended to become “a clarification of issues and an appeal to choose, an attempt to get new to see their existential situation and the great alternatives with which they are faced” according to copleste (336). Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. It is thus opposed to any form of objectivism or scientism, since those approaches stress the crass reality of external fact. On his own, Immanuel Herman Fichte, son of the famous idealist emphasized the individual human personality. So much the worse for the warm fuzzies. A free action, once done, is no longer free; it has become an aspect of the world, a thing. Even on atheism, we will surely die. Another philosopher who joined in the criticism was Christian Hermann Weisse, who opined that Hegel had exaggerated the role of logic for trying to deduce reality from the abstract forms of being. After all, God might have used evolution to bring us about and carry out his plan for our lives. Thus, there is no God and no purpose assigned to us by God. Not only that, try as we may we cannot control our ultimate destiny. Man often focuses on thought of others to the detriment of his unique individuality. The meaning of our personal lives, then, is not found in the intentions of a benevolent creator, but in facts about our evolutionary development and what we make of our future. This work, therefore, seek to examine Soren Kierkegaard’s approach to the question of the meaning of human existence and the question concerning the question: what does it really mean to exist as a human person? The human person who is formerly and presently the inquiring subject, become simultaneously the inquired object. It helps man to realize his purpose of existence thereby fashioning his own life through realization and reflection on himself by excluding himself from the crowd. According to Wilson, science shows us that. In his New York Times bestseller The Meaning of Human Existence, Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson discusses (among other things) the meaning, significance, and freedom of human beings. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Part of HuffPost Religion. So, the chain of reaction against idealism continued and reached screen Kierkegaard. The above insights are what inspired this research. They focus, first, on the problematic character of the human situation, through which the individual is continually confronted with diverse possibilities or alternatives, among which he may choose and on the basis of which he can project his life. In Omorveghs (39) words, this is a loose system of philosophy that deals “win, concrete existence as opposed essence”. How can I remain there to myself and to others? Existentialism as a philosophical endeavour is seen differently from the perspective of different philosophers. It is a manner of philosophizing, a way and manner of looking at the world especially of man and his place in the universe.” For Aqulanna (147) existentialism “is concerned with the ambiguities and paradoxes that constitute the inner being of man”. Philosophy Instructor. Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! Human rights are norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. Although both philosophy and science spring from experience, from the inherent desire of a human person to know reality, they differ in their approach and intent. ; and philosophy could hardly have given a clearer demonstration of the power of this oblivion of Being than it has furnished us by the somnambulistic assurance with which it has passed by the real and only question of B.&T. So while we may be free from a creator, we are trapped by our biology. As for our significance, sure we don't have a special physical location in the universe. Yet the question remains: is Wilson correct? Citing Etim (1) question such as “who am I? What is the meaning of our personal lives? The principal representatives of German existentialism in the 20th century were Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers; those of French personalistic existentialism were Gabriel Marcel and Jean-Paul Sartre; that of French phenomenology were Maurice Merleau-Ponty; that of Spanish existentialism was José Ortega y Gasset; that of Russian idealistic existentialism was Nikolay Berdyayev (who, however, lived half of his adult life in France); and that of Italian existentialism was Nicola Abbagnano. It seems, then, for Wilson, that we are just alone. It is his relationship to this that categorizes him either as authentic or inauthentic individual. Also, bearing in mind the scope of epistemology which deals with the nature, scope and criterion of knowledge. Such include the chief founder of contemporary existentialism in the person of Soren Kierkegaard. Thus, rather than being alone and free to choose our destiny, we are subject to forces outside of our control and cannot escape our impending death.