Existentialists' reputation for being gloomy

[Eudaimonist]

I've always taken existentialism to be a kind of cultural examination appropriate to the "God is Dead" Era of the West. If it is gloomy, that is only because there were at least some gloomy people who are a product of that era. Existentialism sought to understand such people. It's gloominess reflects its subject matter.

Camus, to his credit, tries to put a positive spin on the inevitable failure of personal goals by asserting the joy of being the master of one's own attitudes towards life, even if that means having spite for certain aspects of the human condition. Other existentialists advocate similar things. So, existentialism is gloomy, but generally with a positive motivation.

For my part, I think we are only partly the creators of our personal meaning -- since our unique natures have a role to play in determining which meanings are choiceworthy -- and so I am immune to personal angst and am not really the subject of their study. Nevertheless, to the extent that we must conceptualize our personal meaning, I think that existentialism may have something worthwhile to say.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I dont think the death of God has to be all bad. In retrospect an atheits can look back with awe on the human imagination and find inspiraiton in that. Even Neitzsche admired the music that came from religious inspiration.

The existentialist does not have to be crushingly honest either, as captain Mega von Phanta told me yesterday over quantum flavoured iced tea. Hows that for creating one's own meaning?

 

[Davian]

 

[GrowingSmaller]

For me: Existence is absurd. Art is the imitation of nature. The flock of sheep has just cruised merrily past the window.

 

[Davian]

For me: Existence is absurd. Art is the imitation of nature. The flock of sheep has just cruised merrily past the window.

Absurd? Relative to what?