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The Concept of Authentic Existence in Existentialism

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The Concept of Authentic Existence in Existentialism THE CONCEPT OF AUTHENTIC EXISTENCE IN EXISTENTIALISM SUaMITTED FOR THE AWARD Of THE DEGREE OF '•^' "^ Pif^OSOPHYr.o?c iTTTVoA >, Under the Supervision of DR. PREETI SAYEED DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AUGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2007 T7027 In the name ofJiUah who guides entire humanity towards knowledge, truth and eternal joys lUis worsts (Dedicated' Hifie Memory ofCMy <Dada AndTo !My (BeCoved(Parents DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGAKH-202 002 (U.P.). INDU Dated Certtftcate This is to certify that the thesis "The Concept of Authentic Existence in Existentialism" submitted by Mr. Diwan Taskheer Khan for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Philosophy, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, is a record of bonafide research work carried out by him under my supervision and guidance. It has not been submitted to any other university or institution for the award of any degree or diploma. (Preeti Sayeed) Supervisor PHONE : (0571) 2700920, 21—26 ; Extn. : 346. 347 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The words that I write here will in no way be adequate enough to express the gratitude that I hold for my parents, teachers and companions who have given me so much. My teacher and supervisor of this thesis Dr. Preeti Sayeed has been a pillar of strength and inspiration for me. Her fierce commitment to her profession and relentless struggle for excellence has been so striking. Her caring relationship with her students and her teaching methodology that makes difficult topics seems so exciting have been greatly instructive to me. This work is a result of her unflinching support and, may I say very strict guidance. Her vast erudation, her profound scholarship, her multidisciplinary vision, her interdisciplinary sweep and above all, her philosophical catholicity have made a deep impact on my academic endeavours. I feel very proud to be a student of an adorable personality like her. It is my privilege to place on record my thanks to her from the depth of my heart. I am deeply indebted to: Dr. Roshan Ara, Chairperson Department of Philosophy, for her kind concern and the cooperation she has always extended. Prof. Jalalul Haq and Dr. Syed A. Sayeed who have perhaps been my best teachers. Dr. SanauUah Mir whose vast knowledge of the subject and a certain large-heartedness in disseminating, it has been so inspiring. Mohd. Muqim Sb., Mr. Zulfiquar Ahmad, Dr. Tasadduq Hussain, Dr. Tariq Islam, Dr. Latif Husain Kazmi and Dr. M. Hayat Amir for their valuable teaching, encouragement and continued support. My loving thanks to my friends Naushaba Anjum, Jaleel, Shakeel, Mannan, Aquil, Shagufta, Renu, Mazhar, Anwar Shadiyal, Ahsanullah Khan, Tauqueer Khan, Parvez Ali and Javed Rizvi for all the fun and laughter they brought into my Hfe in A.M.U. A very special thanks to Suhail Ahmad and Suhail Anwar whose help during the typing of my dissertation has been so valuable. And 1 must convey a very special thanks to my room partner Mohd. Shamsul Khan for never ever disturbing me. Thanks are also due to our most affectionate Mukhtar Aapa for her active help and cooperation in providing me requisite research material. I am also thankful to the office staff of the Department of Philosophy Dr. Anwar Saleem, Mr Gulsher Khan, Kafeel and Mubarak. I sincerely thank the Indian Council of Philosophical Research for awarding Junior Research Fellowship for the academic year 2003 to 2005. Without this valuable assistance it would have been very difficult for me to continue. The fellowship tided me through critical financial problems and thereby sustained me in the work. 1 am also thankful to the officials and staff for their kind support and cooperation and timely release of fellowship. Thanks are also due to the staff of ICPR Library, Lucknow for providing me requisite material for my work. I would also like to thank Mr. H.K. Sharma for meticulously typing the manuscript. Most of all I am extremely beholden to my parents, brothers Diwan Tanveer Ahmed Khan, Diwan Tauqueer Khan, Diwan Tauseef Ahmed Khan, sister Rifat Jahan and brother-in-law Irfan Ahmad Siddiqui for putting their trust and hope in my abilities. I sincerely ascribe all my success to them. Thanks are also due to my sister-in-law Warsunnisa, little Arsu and Hamzu for just being what they are. (DIWAN TASKHEER KHAN) u CONTENTS Page. No. Acknowledgement i - H Preface: The Idea of Authenticity 1-11 Chapter-I Exploring Existentialism: 12 - 38 Some Recurrent Themes Chapter-II Soren A. Kierkegaard: 39 - 68 An Irrational Passion Chapter-Ill Martin Buber: 69 - 85 Meeting Through Dialogue Chapter-IV PaulTillich: 86-113 Inspirations of Ultimate Concern Chapter-V KarlJaspers: 114-138 Illumination of Existenz Chapter-VI Gabriel Marcel: 139 -161 Encounter in Creative Fidelity Chapter-VII Jean-Paul Sartre: 162 -191 Creating Meaning in a Meaningless World Chapter-VIII Martin Heidegger: 192 - 231 Awakening From Lostness in the They Chapter-IX A Summing Up: 232 - 253 Reaching Authentic Existence Postscript 254 - 256 Selected Bibliography 257 - 290 Preface: The Odea of J^uthentictty PREFACE The Idea of Authenticity It is sometimes suggested that existentialism is a bygone cultural movement rather than an identifiable philosophical position. Some critics of existentialism have gone so far as to announce its death claiming that nothing of any relevance remains to be explored further. However a thought can be considered as living which holds the potentiality to encourage activity and a capacity to reorganize certain forms of behaviour, i.e. to move people either to feel, or to think, or to act in a specific manner. It is true that as a cultural movement, existentialism belongs to the past but as a philosophical inquiry that introduced a new norm, namely authenticity^ for understanding what it means to be human - a norm tied to a distinctive, post-Cartesian concept of the self as a practical, embodied being-in-the-world - existentialism has continued to be of immense importance to contemporary thought. The society for phenomenology and existential philosophy, as well as societies devoted to Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Jaspers, Marcel, Simone de Beauvoir and other existential philosophers, provide a forum for ongoing work - both of a historical, scholarly nature and of more systematic focus - that derives from classical existentialism, often bringing it into confrontation with more recent movements such as structuralism, deconstruction, hermeneutics, and feminism. After years of being out of fashion in France, existential motifs have once again prominence in the works of leading thinkers. Faucault's embrace of a certain concept of freedom, and his exploration of the 'care of the self, recall debates within existentialism, as does Derrida's work on religion without God and his reflections on the concepts of death, choice, and responsibility. A re- Preface: The Idea of Authenticity appraisal of the legacy of existentialism has become an important agenda for contemporary philosophy. In some sense, existentialism's very notoriety as a cultural movement may have impeded its serious philosophical reception. It may be that what we have most to learn from existentialism still lies before us. While a philosophical definition of existentialism may not entirely ignore the cultural fate of the term, the concept picks out a distinctive cluster of philosophical problems and meaningfully identifies a relatively distinct current of twentieth and now twenty-first century philosophical inquiry - one that has significant impact on fields such as theology and psychology as well. What makes this current of inquiry distinctive is not its concern with 'existence' in general, but rather its claim that thinking about human existence requires new categories not found in the conceptual repertoire of ancient or modem thought; human beings can be understood neither as substances with fixed properties, nor as atomic subjects primarily inter lacing with a world of objects. The term authenticity is used in contexts so diverse that it resists any identification. However the most crucial problem that arises in trying to define it lies in the philosophical nature of its meaning. Even to say 'the nature of meaning' implies an essentialism, which happens to be a perspective of objectivity absolutely alien to authenticity. As Sartre pointed out, authenticity does not denote 'objective qualities' which are qualities predicted of 'the person', in the same way as one asserts, for instance, that the table is round or square'. The notion of authenticity signifies something beyond the domain of objective language as opposed to attributes to which language can refer to directly. The existentialists reiterate that to acquire an understanding of a human being, it is not enough to know all the truths that natural science - including the Preface: The Idea of Authenticity science of psychology - could deliver. The non-reductive dualist has no advantage in this regard over the physicalist. Nor does it suffice to adopt the point of view of practice and add categories drawn from moral theories. Thus neither scientific nor moral inquiry can completely capture what it is that makes me myself my 'own most' self. With due regard to the validity of scientific categories which are governed by the norm of truth and to moral categories upholding the norms of the good and the right existentialism may best be described as the philosophical theory which confirms that a fiirther set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to grasp
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