My problem with existentialism is that it seems incredibly isolation-inducing. It calls us to essentially abandon everything we've ever known, call B.S. on it all and make the active decision to "take the leap" towards awareness and hope we land somewhere with our body still in tact (though hope, an existentialist would say, implies a presupposed sequence of events and that, of course, is defective and therefore we should simply leap). To this I say: "Ok. I'm with ya. I'm following. I'm alright with that - I can accept that I am part of a system and that alone is reason to question things."
However, I am not 'ok' with being perpetually alone. What if the ones around me whom I love don't choose to also disconnect? My grandma very much believes in God and the goodness in humility and quiet, hard work. She believes in heaven and the afterlife and the miracles of Jesus - am I being called to turn my back on her and wish her the best in her 'futile' existence? That is not something I am comfortable doing. What about my baby cousin? She has had absolutely no control over anything in her life thus far, but inherently she contributes to the system she was born into. I am supposed to allow her to grow into her own person without external help because any of that would contaminate and predispose her existence in society? Well, I can't picture a parent bringing a child into the world and then deciding to "let em figure it out". Perhaps those parents out to attempt to raise that child in a existentialist setting where they could form a family system-denying fight squad, something akin to "The Incredibles" with a stark twist. But then, what if young Friedrich Wilhelm feels oppressed by the system that has been created by denying the ultimate system? Is he now obligated to distance himself from that world as well simply because within it he has a specific life layout (that is derived by objecting to the conventional life layout, but nonetheless)? When and where does the cycle end?
I have trouble seeing existentialism's answer to the natural human need for community. And, truly I would love for someone to provide me with the answers to these questions. I want to like existentialism but I need to (as I'm sure most of us do) investigate its strength from all angles before that happens.
I agree with your frustration with existentialism. I understand that there are systems in place in the world, but the suggestion that the only way to escape these systems is to reject the comfort of family and love is something that I do not understand. Like you, I cannot fully agree with existentialism because I cannot make myself believe that the only meaning to life is death.
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ReplyDeleteI never thought that existentialism meant that you had to abandon all the people in your life. It does say that you have the abandon the systems, but those who still believe in the systems don't have to be banished from your life. An existentialist can have their own beliefs without evangelizing others or isolating themselves. While Meursault was introverted, I don't think he was utterly isolated.
ReplyDeleteThen again Meursault is introverted and Matthew Slaughter isolates himself. But does that mean every existentialist (or those with existentialist-ish beliefs) has to isolate themselves?
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