Man is nothing other than what he makes of himself. This is the main principle of existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that has taken shape in Europe since the First World War. Existentialism focuses on the personally experienced existence with its attitudes, moods and decisions, which in turn form the starting point for action.
Philosophy of existence
Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is considered one of the most important precursors of existential philosophy. Heidegger (1889-1976) and Sartre (1905-1980) gave existential philosophy more shape and content. The existential philosophers take man in the world as the starting point of their philosophy. This philosophy, by the way, has no systematic theory of existence. According to the existential philosophers, true existence cannot be derived from a concept or a system. Instead, we must think from the real human mode of existence in the concrete world.
Being and existence
The difference between being and existence can be characterized as follows. Being is either there or it is not. Existence, however, is only possible. It is a can-be. Existence is constantly faced with choices, must constantly decide and can be preserved or lost at any moment. Man never coincides with himself, as a thing coincides with itself. Man transcends himself, he can choose from many possibilities and realize them. Man is not, but he becomes. Man is what he makes of himself.
En-soi & pour-soi
Sartre distinguishes between two areas of being, namely being-in-oneself (en-soi) and being-for-oneself (pour-soi). Being-in-itself is the being of material things, which is compact, indefinite, meaningless and absurd. Being-for-itself is consciousness characterized by intentionality.
Fear and freedom
Fear and freedom are recurring themes for Heidegger and Sartre. Heidegger says that reflection can teach us to see that death, the possibility of our own non-being, calls us to take on our own existence. He points out the irrevocability of our decisions and calls on us to live in freedom and self-responsibility. Man must be first and foremost, it is even his job to be.
Sartre stands up with great emphasis for human freedom. He grants consciousness absolute and unlimited freedom. Man may be dependent on circumstances, but as an acting being he is able to change these circumstances. Through his freedom man can continuously realize himself. But being aware of this freedom can also take the form of fear, in which case there is a great temptation to avoid or deny freedom.
Creativity
Sartre’s view of life is atheistic and pessimistic. In his view, existence is ultimately a failure, because being together is impossible. Man stands helplessly alone in a meaningless world of pure factuality to which he can only give arbitrary meaning through his own creativity. Man is not something in the sense in which things are something. He must, as in a continuous creation from nothing, make himself what he is. Man is free. Man is condemned to freedom.