Existentialism

Philosophy
1

I have tried reading definitions for this philosophy but I can’t really pin down what it’s about exactly. What is existentialism? Also why do some people take an issue with it?

2

At its core, existentialism is simply a philosophy that argues each individual is a free agent with free will. (Please, do not go there. If you want to discuss free will dig into the archives and read one of the myriad interminable threads on the subject.) One problem is some existentialist philosophers argue against scientific knowledge and objective reality. That’s about all I know on the subject as I find it a boring part of philosophy and don’t give it much credence.

3

I did one of those online “what are you” quizzes and found out I’m an existentialist. Had no idea. Mainly because I heard the word used in college in the wrong way. And I think it’s a common mistake to think it is about something outside of reality. According this quiz, it’s the opposite, it’s accepting what you observe as the sum of existence. That is things are what they are.
I tried reading Sarte once. Don’t remember what I got out of it.

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I also heard that moral relativism was a part of it. It just seems like the more I read on existentialism the more ridiculous it seems. Wasn’t neitzche one of those as well?

5
I also heard that moral relativism was a part of it. It just seems like the more I read on existentialism the more ridiculous it seems. Wasn't neitzche one of those as well?
Sartre is the most famous of modern day existentialists. I think it's a crock, myself, and objective science supports my view, despite what Darron thinks. Lois
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I also heard that moral relativism was a part of it. It just seems like the more I read on existentialism the more ridiculous it seems. Wasn't neitzche one of those as well?
Sartre is the most famous of modern day existentialists. I think it's a crock, myself, and objective science supports my view, despite what Darron thinks. Lois Lois, my last phrase was "I find it a boring part of philosophy and don’t give it much credence." I was being politically correct. Existentialism turned me away from philosophy for a long time. I had a high school English teacher who loved Existentialism and used it to tell us the true meaning behind the literature we were reading. "Crock" is a polite was of saying what I feel about Existentialism.
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I have always found the word ‘existentialism’ and its various derivatives to be a tad pompous. A high-brow arts critic obliged to review a crass science fiction film may describe the plot as :-
The aliens land on Earth. To them, human beings are simply food, thus causing us all an existentialist / existential crisis.
The aliens land on Earth. To them, human beings are simply food, thus threatening our existence.
The second of those two is much the better English because it is plain, simplistic and clear. The first is the sort of language that is rarely seen / heard outside the pompous arts / philosophy world. The essence of communication is surely to use the sort of language that can be understood by the largest number of people.
There are people who try to be perceived as intellectual by using what may seem to be sophisticated words even though they know that such words are understood by fewer people.

8
I have tried reading definitions for this philosophy but I can't really pin down what it's about exactly. What is existentialism? Also why do some people take an issue with it?
Existentialism is about existence. Using this word to describe a philosophy tells us nothing.
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I have tried reading definitions for this philosophy but I can't really pin down what it's about exactly. What is existentialism? Also why do some people take an issue with it?
Existentialism is about existence. Using this word to describe a philosophy tells us nothing. Umm, I'm not sure I follow. Also what gets me is how relative they say things are. Like morality, customs, and progress. It's like what leg do you have to stand on at that point really?
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Morality, customs and progress are topics which we can make our own assessments and judgements about.
How do philosophers make a living? Presumably they start studying philosophy at university and eventually pass philosophy exams. Then what happens? Few companies employ philosophers. So, presumably philosophers become professors of philosophy at universities etc.
Outside the university context what is the correct amount of wage to pay a philosopher? How can we make a judgement on the quality of his / her work? In the event of a philosopher feeling that he / she is under-paid, well he / she will just have to be philosophical about it.
Let me know if you are working for a bank, brothel, computing, electronics, engineering, vehicle manufacturing or any other company that employs a team of philosophers.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJptbr66jMAhXoCMAKHRdjDgsQ3ywIHzAA&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9SqQNgDrgg&usg=AFQjCNGRp7ygAKSHgF7t0C3JOSNGfXL3iw

11
I also heard that moral relativism was a part of it. It just seems like the more I read on existentialism the more ridiculous it seems. Wasn't neitzche one of those as well?
Sartre is the most famous of modern day existentialists. I think it's a crock, myself, and objective science supports my view, despite what Darron thinks. Lois Lois, my last phrase was "I find it a boring part of philosophy and don’t give it much credence." I was being politically correct. Existentialism turned me away from philosophy for a long time. I had a high school English teacher who loved Existentialism and used it to tell us the true meaning behind the literature we were reading. "Crock" is a polite was of saying what I feel about Existentialism. Well, I'm glad we agree. Darron.
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Morality, customs and progress are topics which we can make our own assessments and judgements about. How do philosophers make a living? Presumably they start studying philosophy at university and eventually pass philosophy exams. Then what happens? Few companies employ philosophers. So, presumably philosophers become professors of philosophy at universities etc. Outside the university context what is the correct amount of wage to pay a philosopher? How can we make a judgement on the quality of his / her work? In the event of a philosopher feeling that he / she is under-paid, well he / she will just have to be philosophical about it. Let me know if you are working for a bank, brothel, computing, electronics, engineering, vehicle manufacturing or any other company that employs a team of philosophers. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJptbr66jMAhXoCMAKHRdjDgsQ3ywIHzAA&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9SqQNgDrgg&usg=AFQjCNGRp7ygAKSHgF7t0C3JOSNGfXL3iw
But wouldn't pervasive relative morality be rather useless
13
I have tried reading definitions for this philosophy but I can't really pin down what it's about exactly. What is existentialism? Also why do some people take an issue with it?
Don't you have access to Wikipedia? Existentialism is not the worthless philosophy as many present it here, even if some of its outskirts are a bit too obscure, especially where existentialism 'goes metaphysical'. Existentialism tries to explain what it means to be an individual subject in an objective world. As an example: Kierkegaard, who generally is considered as the first existentialist, was very critical to Hegel's world system, because it was just that: a huge world system that left totally unclear what 'I' had to do next. With science the situation is not completely different. Of course, science is not a speculative world system like Hegel's system, but it is true that science is silent about the experience of having to choose your way through life as a subject. Existentialism tries to analyse what makes a personal life in a universe that does not provide any 'pre-configured meaning'. How should one orientate oneself in one's choices and actions where there is nor given meaning, and therefore neither objective ethics. One must 'design oneself' in one's choices and actions, which makes a huge responsibility. Existentialism ruthlessly uncovers all kinds of ways that individuals try to escape the responsibility for their actions, e.g. by committing to a religious belief, hiding behind the masses, or denying its own subjectivity. Reading into existentialism, however, is not the first way to go for a depressed person.
I also heard that moral relativism was a part of it.
I think this is a misunderstanding. It may seem so on the surface, but Sartre, de Beauvoir or Camus certainly had strong ethical ideas.
Sartre is the most famous of modern day existentialists. I think it's a crock, myself, and objective science supports my view
Great example of avoiding responsibility (third example above). Are you a responsible person, Lois? If so, why?
Existentialism is about existence. Using this word to describe a philosophy tells us nothing.
No, of course not. It is a word. And unless you study what is meant by it, you will know nothing about it. Is this meant to be a criticism of existentialism? That they chose the wrong word for it?
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For some reason hearing it from someone who comprehends it better than I do helps.
But it doesn’t explain how when I hear most people talk about it they just dismiss it with a hand wave, almost as though it has no real value to offer the world.
Then there are those who think I’m asking about neitzche

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Thanks GdB. If we rated answers, you’d get a plus 1 from me.
Also highly recommend this source]

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But it doesn't explain how when I hear most people talk about it they just dismiss it with a hand wave, almost as though it has no real value to offer the world.
Well, parts of existentialism are unscientific, which of course makes it unsympathetic to many of the posters here, especially those who think that when something is not scientific it is worthless. However, I think that if you are aware of its limits, then there is still a lot left to learn from. Existentialism tries to build an ethics based on the factual experiences of people, of subjects. My view on it is that existentialism is the call to all of us to take as much responsibility on our shoulders as we can. But in this view it sometimes tends to be too radical: it proclaims total free choice at every moment of your life, with the risk of being convicted by anybody anytime. There are several criticisms on existentialism: one of them comes from structuralism, which proclaims the 'death of the subject': we are all just functions of a never-ending discourse. This movement radicalised as post-modernism. Another criticism is of course the scientific world. Existentialism makes free will a metaphysical category, which is of course totally against a scientific, deterministic world view: existentialism seems to adhere to a libertarian notion of free will.
Then there are those who think I'm asking about neitzche
Nietzsche, please. Maybe I can come back at him later.
Thanks GdB. If we rated answers, you'd get a plus 1 from me.
Thanks.
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It seems like all about “me” and not giving a damn about others.
Also what about neitzche?

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It seems like all about "me" and not giving a damn about others.
Then you are wrong. I suggest you read the Wikipedia article on existentialism, and follow the link Lausten provided. If you have questions, just ask.
Also what about neitzche?
Here I also suggest to read Wikipedia. If you do not find any article about 'neitzche', then I suppose you are not ready to read about him.
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It seems like all about "me" and not giving a damn about others.
Then you are wrong. I suggest you read the Wikipedia article on existentialism, and follow the link Lausten provided. If you have questions, just ask.
Also what about neitzche?
Here I also suggest to read Wikipedia. If you do not find any article about 'neitzche', then I suppose you are not ready to read about him. I think I see why people don't take it seriously. It just uses a lot of subjective terms and doesn't really take you anywhere when it comes to understanding people. I mean authenticity is the vaguest term I have ever heard and they don't describe what it means, or how one can be sure they have found it.
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I think I see why people don't take it seriously. It just uses a lot of subjective terms and doesn't really take you anywhere when it comes to understanding people. I mean authenticity is the vaguest term I have ever heard and they don't describe what it means, or how one can be sure they have found it.
If you have really no idea what authenticity is, I understand why you have so many problems. Authenticity is highly related with psychological health; a lack of it with depression. I don't know what is unclear:]
In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character, despite external pressures; the conscious self is seen as coming to terms with being in a material world and with encountering external forces, pressures, and influences which are very different from, and other than, itself. A lack of authenticity is considered in existentialism to be bad faith.