CONTEMPORA RY Prepared by Raizza P.

Corpuz
2. Contemporary philosophy refers to the current era of philosophy, generally
dealing with philosophers from the late 19th century through to the 21st
3. The19th century also began to see a division in the approach to philosophy
being taken in different areas of western philosophy. In the United Kingdom and North
America, a focus on logic, language and the natural sciences was becoming
predominant in philosophy, and this tradition was labelled analytic philosophy.
4. Those who did not find themselves in this analytic trend were mostly based in
Europe, and the idea of continental philosophy was born. The names are already
considered obsolete, in some senses, but many philosophers still observe a difference
between the logical and scientific approach of analytic philosophy and the
existentialism, phenomenology and other approaches of continental philosophy.
5. EXISTENTIALISM in CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
6. that philosophical thinking begins with the human subjectnot merely the
thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual.
7. individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the
existential attitude"
8. Existentialism and the World Focuses on limitless capacity for ethically and
intellectually engaging people to enact change in the world. No explanation of why we
are alive instead, we are abandoned with nothing more than an awareness of our
surroundings and a need to cope with surroundings in order to survive.
9. Thus, 1. Perspectives, aesthetics, and approaches to dealing with the world and
its inherent difficulties 2. Deals with the recurring problem of finding meaning in
existence. 3. The individual must create meaning for him/her self. 4. Gets a reputation
for being pessimistic and meaningless or absurd and is associated with things like
angst, boredom and fear
10. Therefore, the self is always in process Individualism, Self-Actualization, and
SelfBranding/Personal Branding Disavows a sense of pattern in the universe. Creativity
is much more highly prized than conformity Therefore, effort is prized more than skill
Sincerity, self-analysis, and conviction is what one can expect in regard to ethical
decisions
11. It simply implies that : IT SIMPLY ABOUT YOU!
12. PHILOSOPHERS 1.Soeren Kierkegaard 2.Friedrich Nietzsche 3.Martin Heidegger
4.Jean -Paul Sartre 5.Arthur Schopenhauer
13. Sren Kierkegaard 1813-1855, Danish Considered to be the first Existential
Philosopher Considered as the Father of Existentialism Insisted on the
distinctiveness of personal experience/subjectivity. He argues, subjectivity is truth,
truth is subjectivity
14. Human Nature For Kierkegaard, human beings stand out as responsible
individuals who must make free choices.
15. to him the deepest According "inwardness" of the human being is the place
of passionate choice wherein one must take a "leap of faith" despite one's finitude, the
fact that we can never know with certainly the outcome of our choices despite our

accountability for them. His psychological work explored the emotions and feelings of
individuals when faced with life choices.
16. There are three modes of existence that can be chosen by an individual. (3
Sphere/Stages of Lifes Way) 1.aesthetic = a redefined hedonism,
consisting of the search for pleasure 2.ethical = involves intense commitment to
ones duty in faith and social obligations 3.religious = submission to God, and only
Gods will
17. Christianity is therefore not a doctrine, but the fact that God has existed.
"...the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live
and die"
18. Arthur Schopenhauer The World as Will and Idea / Representation The
human body and all its parts being the visible expression of the will and its several
desires. The teeth, throat, and bowels for example being "objectified" hunger.
19. For Schopenhauer, who is considered to be a pessimistic philosopher, the
tragedy of life arises from the nature of the will, which constantly urges the individual
toward the satisfaction of successive goals, none of which can provide permanent
satisfaction for the infinite activity of the life force, or will
20. The title of Schopenhauers masterwork contains the central thesis of his
philosophy. The world is a phenomenon, a representation or idea ; Schopenhauer
makes no distinction between a phenomenon and an appearance; he says that the two
are identical. The world as we know it is an appearance or deception.
21. The Sciences, meanwhile, could be utilised to provide understanding of the
Empirical World of time, space, and causally interconnected material objects.
22. Jean Paul Sartre 1905-1980 20th centurys greatest existential thinker
French Existence precedes essence What makes you who you are by what you make
of yourself. Only person to ever decline the Nobel Prize in Literature We are all
condemned to be free Believed that there is no authority that defines freedom or
provides rules or guarantees decisions.
23. Existence Humanism-Essence
24. IT MEANS:
25. Being and Nothingness Existentialism is Humanism Meaning there is total
responsibility on the individual for all actions. Sartre is convinced that human
responsibility makes sense only if there is no God; otherwise divine foreknowledge and
predestination necessarily exclude alternative options and consequently responsibility.
26. There are at least three circles in the extension of our responsibility: 1.
Individual responsibility: If existence precedes essence man is responsible for his own
actions (and his individuality) 2. Total Responsibility: If man is free to choose what he is
going to make of himself, he is entirely responsible for what he is becoming;
27. 3. Universal Responsibility: If man is fully responsible for what he is presenting
as the image of man, he is responsible for all men Individual responsibility
corresponds to the common sense notion of responsibility.
28. Hell is other people- NO EXIT Hell is other people because we can try and
force the others to see us in the way we want them to see us, but they will always see
us in the way they want to see us. The form which is easiest for them in most cases.

29. Friedrich Nietzsche

30. Friedrich Nietzsche and Nihilism So in saying God is dead this was what he
really meant: Nietzsche sought to draw the consequences of the death of God, the
collapse of any theistic support for morality In such a situation the individual is forced
back upon himself. AKA. Personal responsibility
31. There are two ways to take this: On the one hand, if he is weakly constituted
he may fall victim to despair in the face of nihilism, the recognition that life has no
intrinsic meaning. On the other hand, for a strong or creative individual nihilism
presents a liberating opportunity to take responsibility for meaning, to exercise
creativity by transvaluing her values, establishing a new order of rank.
32. Friedrich Nietzsche is notable for having declared that God is dead and for
having written several of his works in the presumption that man must find a new mode
of being given the death of God.
33. GOD IS DEAD Implications of the Death of God according to Nietzsche:
Rejection of absolute values. (Cant have a "secularized" form of Christianity) Nihilism
(because most men in the West know no other values but Christian values) "Active
nihilism" a nihilism that seeks to destroy what it no longer believes
34. SUPERMAN Ubermensch or superman [Zarathustra] is not superior in
breeding or endowment, but in power and strength. The superman confronts all the
possible terrors and wretchedness of life and still joyously affirms it. In Thus Spake
Zarathustra Nietzsche proclaims, "Not `humanity but Superman is the goal." "Man is
something that must be surpassed; man is a bridge and not a goal."
35. Superman is not inevitable, the result of some determined process. It is
more a myth, a goal for the will: "Superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will
say: Superman is to be the meaning of the earth." Superman cannot come unless
superior individuals have the courage to transvalue all values.
36. For Nietzsche a recognition that God is Dead to his own generation of men
and women ought to come as a Joyous Wisdom allowing individuals to lead less guiltridden lives in a world that was no longer to be seen as being inherently sinful. He
considered that earthly lives could become more joyful, meaningful and "healthy" when
not lived within narrow limits set by faith-related concerns for the state of an
individual's eternal soul.
37. Nietzsche seems to be suggesting that the acceptance that God is dead will
also involve the ending of long-established standards of morality and of purpose.
Without the former and accepted widely standards society has to face up to the
possible emergence of a nihilistic situation where peoples lives are not particularly
constrained by faith-based considerations of morality or particularly guided by any
faith-related sense of purpose.
38. Given what he saw as the "unbelievability" of the "God-hypothesis"
Nietzsche himself seemed to favour the creation of a new set of values "faithful to the
earth." This view perhaps being associable with the possibility of the "Overman" or
"Superman."
39. "I teach you the overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What
have you done to overcome him? All beings so far have created something beyond

themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the
beasts rather than overcome man? What is the ape to man? A laughingstock or a
painful embarrassment. And man shall be just that for the overman: a laughingstock or
a painful embarrassment..."
40. Martin Heidegger 1889-1976 German philosopher known for his
existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being". Maintained
that our way of questioning defines our nature. As with Kierkegaard and Sartre,
Heidegger believed the existence of a physical body preceded the essence of self. At
some point in the development process, a being becomes aware that it exists. This
pivotal point in time is when essence begins to form; the individual decides to
acknowledge and embrace an essence at this moment. Heidegger is a controversial
figure, largely for his affiliation with Nazism prior to 1934, for which he neither
apologized nor expressed regret, except in private when he called it "the biggest
stupidity of his life- this calls to question Heidegger's thought and his connection to
National Socialism.
41. Dasien Sorge Dasien Sorge was Heidegger's term for concern and caring
about the self and its existence. When confronted with the world and other beings, the
individual feels anxiety and dread. The world appears complex and unsafe -which it is.
As a result, the human being, Dasein, must care for itself as no one else can or will.
Concern, or Sorge, is the ability to care about the self, in relation to phenomena. This
belief that death defines life complements Sren Kierkegaard's thought that God does
not exist, but is real. Existence, or Existenz, represents knowing one is and is
changing. Finally, moods, or Stimmungen, are reactions to other beings, further
allowing one to define the self.
42. Five Modes of Dasein The five modes of Dasein described by Heidegger are:
authenticity, inauthenticity, everydayness, averageness, and publicness. Authentic
being represents a choice of self and achievement. All other modes represent a failing
to embrace the individuality available to all people.
43. Phenomenology A theory of knowledge that had a keen interest in the
problems of perception. The study of structures of experience or consciousness (as
experienced from the first-person point of view). The study in phenomena-the
appearances of things or things AS they appear in our experience or the way we
experience things, therefore the meanings things have in OUR experience. Studies
conscious experience experienced from the first person point of view.
44. Nihilism- nothingness Nihilism- belief that traditional morals, values, ideas,
etc. have no worth or value The denial of existence as any basis for knowledge or
truth There is no meaning or purpose to existence (nil).
45. For the Activity next meeting per GROUP Instruction: Create your own
Existentialism Philosophy based on your favorite cartoon story e.g
http://myretrospace.blogspot.com/2008/09/existe Email it to me for your presentation