Existentialism is Dead

In theory, an individual who practices true existentialism is the happiest being in the world. The life of an existentialist consists of living in a manner that he/she wants and having very limited cares in the world. An existentialist does not abide by any rules of society and would never be caught complying to any outside authority.

In the life of Meursault, he accepts death as a part of normal human life, so the death of his mother did not have the effect that it would on most people. While in no way is Meursault happy that his mom is dead, he does not necessarily display signs of grief. He is seemingly neutral to almost every situation he is put in; another example being when Marie asked Meursault if he wanted to marry her and Meursault responded by saying that he didn’t really care, he would if she wanted to.

At first glance, Meursault is stone-cold, careless, and selfish. However, upon reflection, Meursault is doing it right. He doesn’t upset himself or get too invested in the normal parts of human life- because it truly doesn’t matter. When we die, we all end up in the same place and with alone. You can’t take anything to the grave so there’s no use in obsessing about things like death, marriage, and love when it is going to be gone soon anyways.

While I can recognize that Meursault does not live such a negative life as one might think, I think it is impossible for us in our society today to live a truly existential life.

In order to live a life that fits all the requirements of existentialism, you must completely isolate yourself from the world from the day you are born. You cannot depend on anything or anyone, nor can you control anything around you.

Furthermore, you don’t define yourself based on the world you live in or who you surround yourself with, you’re supposed to define yourself based on actions you make and feelings you feel with no outside influence. Growing up in a family makes existentialism impossible right off the bat because some of the very first things you learn are family morals, rules, and expectations. As an infant, your parents are the light of your life and anything they say goes. So, you lose any chance of being truly independent the moment you’re born into a family. The lack of true existentialism continues into friendships of childhood and adulthood because your friends and various relationships always play some role into how you behave and present yourself.

Our world today is so interconnected through all the technology we have and new relationships are made everyday. Therefore, true, full-blown existentialism is almost impossible in our modern world.