Existentialism and Phenomenology of Continental Philosophy

Existentialism and phenomenology ideas of the Continental philosophy viewpoints are a basis for many philosophical theories of today. The history of these two specific areas of thought began in the nineteenth century, but some of the main ideas can be traced as far back as Socrates, and even further back before the time of Socrates. Even though this is the case, the actual introduction of these two philosophies was not officially formed until the nineteenth century. Existentialism began with such philosophers as Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, while phenomenology began with philosophers like Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Emmanuel Levinas. These two philosophies, even though they are based on different ideas, are important concepts that are still used today.

Existentialism is made up of many different themes, but it is basically the believe that every human is responsible for their own actions and consequences, and that the world is an irrational place, so every decision made has to be the correct decision for the particular person making the choice. This form of philosophy puts a huge burden upon the shoulders of each and every person because their decisions have an impact upon the entire population, and not just themselves. For example, murder is an unethical act that is against the law, so those people that commit murder, which is their own personal choice, have to be held accountable for their own actions. Basically, the person made the choice to kill someone, so they have to accept the consequences of their actions, and realize that the blame for the action is theirs alone.

Soren Kierkegaard was a pioneer in the existentialism points of view. According to Kierkegard, the world is a place of suffering, fear, and dread. His main philosophical question was whether a person could do anything at all to keep themselves from falling into despair. He called upon the morality of Christianity, even though he admitted that the belief in God was illogical, to help people from becoming despaired (Wyatt, 2009). According to Kierkegard, God was the only way out of the cruel, irrational world.

Friedrich Nietzsche was another philosopher that followed the existentialism ideas, but his version was different than Kierkegard, He also believed that the world was irrational, and that people lead a boring, uneventful life by following set moral rules. He believed that people should be more outgoing, and enjoy life while they could. He believed that God was "dead" to us, and stated that "In truth, there is only one Christian, and he died on the cross" (Liukkonen, 2008)." This idea claims that in order to live, a person must stop believing in God and how they should act according to God's will, and embrace their own will. In this way, life is a successful accomplishment that has meaning and happiness.

Albert Camus, another philosopher that viewed things as existentialism concepts, grew up in poverty so his main question in life was "Is there any reason not to commit suicide". His foundation for this question was due to the fact that he believed that humans never truly achieve what they need, human contact and for understanding. He believed that people lived, and died, a solitary life and very few ever meet the basic human needs. Therefore, life is mostly a wasted endeavor with no true justification.

Jean-Paul Sartre is the final existentialist to discuss. He was an atheist and believed that God had abandoned humans, which leaves our society in a terrible shape. He states that there is no God, which means that a person is not held accountable for their actions by a higher power. In other words, there is no real reason for human existence, and humans have free will to do as the please. They have to make their own choices according to their own beliefs, and they have to accept the consequences of those decisions.

Phenomenology is also a Continental philosophy way of ideas, and it is based on the idea that everything is based upon the experiences of consciousness. This form of thinking began with Kant and Hegel, but has been pushed since then by Husserl, Heldegger, and Levinas.

Edmund Husserl was the first to attempt raising the faith in the perceptions of consciousness, and how this consciousness could be perceived. He is considered to be the father of phenomenology (Island of Freedom, 2003). His concept basically states that the object in questions is perceived by the mind in a specific way, which is the way in which each specific human sees the object.

Martin Hiendegger also believed that the objects, themselves, without any assumptions from the past or present. This line of thinking also makes Heindegger a believer of phenomenology. He believed that it was ridiculous to assume that man is the master of the universe, and that this type of reasoning was the cause of the decline of society. He believed that people lived in a state of everydayness, which meant that people failed to reach their full potential because they lived every day the same without making adequate choices throughout the majority of their lives.

Emmanuel Levinas was another Continental philosopher, and he is credited with bringing the concepts of phenomenology to France. He believed that the study of Being was pointless, and that philosophy should be based upon the Other, and God was the ultimate Other. In his theory, everything is experienced as Other, and in order to reach a higher level a human must be able to achieve understanding of this Other.

The history of existentialism and phenomenology philosophy can be traced as far back as Socrates, but the nineteenth century is said to be the actual starting point for them both Existentialism began with such philosophers as Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, while phenomenology began with philosophers like Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Emmanuel Levinas. The history of these two forms of philosophy still has influences upon the philosophical ideas of today.

Island of Freedom Edmund Husserl Island of Freedom
Petri Liukkonen Friedrich Nietzsche Kirjasto
C. S. Wyatt The Existential Primer Tameri