Existentialism claims that existence/consciousness comes before essence/environmental makeup. Existentialism rejects that there are shared environmental characteristics in humans. In practice this would mean that one could determine how they feel devoid of their genetics and environmental characteristics. One's consciousness, because it comes first, could choose how it feels about a situation. Basic psychology shows that this is flawed. One’s genetic makeup and brain functions affect how one feels about any situation before one can consciously choose how to feel, at the very least they are intertwined. If some part of the brain is removed every decision is going to be different, showing the power the brain's genetic makeup truly has. Existentialism also fails to recognize how one's past influences affect current decision. If one was abused as a child they will makes decisions different from those of a child who was not abused. The psychological interplay between genetics and someone's past make it impossible to make conscious decisions without them effecting the decision.
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