THE EXISTENTIAL LEXICON - A - abandonment - The consequence of individualism. A metaphysical isolation according to which each individual must ultimately fall back upon his or her own resources. abstraction - (from NDE) (Latin ab: from + trahere: to remove; to remove from) Existentialists criticize idealistic philosophy for its abstract character, for having abstracted thought from life. Believing that no definition of reality can substitute reality for itself, existentialists seek to avoid abstraction. Existential thinkers recommend abstraction as a kind of synonym for “reflection,” that is, as the opposite of an entirely unreflective life, a life lived on the sensual level of pleasure. Karl Jaspers writes that the correct degree of abstraction is necessary to prevent blind attachment to hedonism or utopianism. When the correct degree of abstraction is attained, the individual will engage himself in the tasks of the world, accepting life without illusion, accepting conflict, suffering, death, and be able to go forward with hope. absurd - (from NDE) (Latin absurdus: unheard of) The absurd is viewed either (as with Kierkegaard) as the positive basis for the acceptance of authentic reality, or (as with Sartre) as the negative basis for the rejection of a religious view of the world. God’s passion is to be found in the absurd; where this sign is to be seen, there God is present… — Kierkegaard, The Last Years Combinations of logically compatible words become absurd when they contradict the meaningful order of reality. — Paul Tillich, Systemic Theology, II Karl Jaspers rejects the absurd as defined and celebrated by Kierkegaard. Such absurdity is an indication of the bankruptcy of modern Christianity, Protestant and Catholic. Albert Camus began with the declaration that the world was absurd and meaningless. Refusing to be defeated by such a reality, he celebrated the joy of what he called “the invincible summer” within. absurdism - The belief nothing can explain or rationalize human existence. There is no answer to “Why am I?” Human beings exist in a meaningless, irrational universe and that any search for order by them will bring them into direct conflict with this universe. Actaeon Complex - (from NDE) (Greek Aktaion: mythological character who watched Artemis bathe. He was changed into a stag, then killed by his own dogs.) The term used by Sartre in Being and Nothingness to indicate the totality of images which show that knowing is a form of appropriative volition with overtones of sexuality. aesthetical - (from NDE) (Greek aisthetikos: sensitive) Kierkegaard used “aesthetical” in a technical way in his thought. The aesthetical is the first “stage on life’s way,” or “sphere of existence.” The aesthetical is that sphere of existence in which a person lives rather aimlessly, seeking pleasure. Aesthetics, literature, poetics, drama, and music were important to the existentialists. Drama is a common subject, thanks to Hegel (existentialists critique Hegel frequently) and Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy. Camus and Sartre were playwrights, recognizing that art reaches more people than dry philosophy. agnosticism - The uncertain beliefs of many existentialists, agnostics claim one cannot prove or disprove the existence of a deity. Existential agnostics tend to claim they do not care if there is or is not a supreme deity. alienation - A state of divided selfhood in which one is distanced from one’s true being and confronts the self as an alien being. anarchy - Absence of any form of political authority. Most existentialists consider all individuals equal politically. Notice political equality is not equated with any other form of measure. Inequities are inevitable, but existentialists believe politics should not produce these differences. Anarchy is not chaos, but the result of social evolution. anguish - (from NDE) (Latin angere to tighten, choke) One of the key terms in existential philosophy, anguish (or dread) reveals the character of human life and illuminates the nature of the world. In Kierkegaard’s conception, dread (Angest) is not fear, caused by some external threat. Rather, dread is an inward passion, either a continuous melancholy or a sudden and terrifying emotion. Sartre treats anguish (angoises) as the reflective apprehension of the Self as freedom. Anguish is the realization that a nothingness slips in between my Self and my past and future so that nothing relieves me from the necessity of continually choosing myself and nothing guarantees the validity of the values which I choose. Jaspers, differing from Sartre, defines anguish (Angst) as “the dizziness and shudder of freedom confronting the necessity of making a choice.” As he develops his thought, anguish is experienced in those ultimate situations, such as before death, in which Existenz faces its most extreme limits. As one of Dasein’s possibilities of Being, anxiety — together with Dasein itself as disclosed in it — provides the phenomenal basis for explicitly grasping Dasein’s primordial totality of Being. — Heidegger, Being and Time The normal, existential anxiety of guilt drives the person toward attempts to avoid this anxiety (usually called the uneasy conscience) by avoiding guilt. … The moralistic self-defense of the neurotic makes him see guilt where there is no guilt or where one is guilty in a very indirect way. — Tillich, The Courage to Be amoral - To reject the ethical system of a community; to develop an independent ethical system. Do not confuse “amoral” in existentialism for “without morality.” Much like anarchy, the concept is misunderstood and misapplied to existentialists. atheism - Possessing no belief in an omnipotent deity, or finding no need to ponder the existence of a deity. For some, atheism implies the denial a deity exists, as opposed to non-belief. Existential atheism is an active debate, not to be confused with agnosticism. authentic - To be true. If something is “authentic” it is exactly as named or described. According to some thinkers, nothing is authentic. Because people evolve and alter their essence, people cannot be authentic for more than an instant, frozen in time. - B - Bad Faith - A lie, especially to the self. Self-deception, the paradox of lying to the self, usually in an attempt to escape the responsibility of being an individual. The extreme example cited by existentialists is, “I was only following orders.” Any denial of free will is an example of bad faith. Sartre believed all moments of Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi) were self-evident, contradicting many psychologists. being (from NDE) In general philosophical usage, being is that which “is,” without qualification. According to Spinoza, being is both the source and the ultimate subject of all distinctions. According to Hegel, being contains non- being within itself and is the source of the cosmic process which leads to the synthetic union of being and non-being in becoming. If being… is understood as empirical being, truth is at once transformed into a desideratum, and everything must be understood in terms of becoming; for the empirical object is unfinished and the existing cognitive spirit is itself in process of becoming. — Kierkegaard (Johannes Climacus), Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments Being is not produced by us; it is not mere interpretation… Rather, by its own impetus, it causes us to interpret and will not permit our interpretation ever to be satisfied. — Jaspers, The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers Being, as the basic theme of philosophy, is no class or genus of entities; yet it pertains to every entity. — Heidegger, Being and Time Being is. Being is in-itself. Being is what it is. — Sartre, Being and Nothingness Being has nonbeing “within” itself as that which is eternally present and eternally overcome in the process of the divine life. — Tillich, The Courage to Be [CSW: I find these self-referencing definitions problematic. Definitions should not form loops, otherwise dictionaries are useless.] Being-for-Itself - Sartre’s terms for sentient existence, namely human existence. A form of consciousness that entertains itself as possibility rather than as terminal fact. The recognition that a being can change itself. Being-for-Others - The act of existing as an object external to other beings. We all exist in a state of being-for-others at various moments. Being-in-Itself - Reality prior to human intervention. What is, without mankind. Being-in-Itself-for-Itself - An impossible form of being attributed to God. A completely realized existence while at the same time a void waiting to be filled… complete freedom. Being-in-the-Midst - A form of bad faith in which one chooses the self merely as an inert presence, as a thing. In other words, the treatment of the self as without the ability to change freely. Being-in-the-World - Choosing the self as a sentient, real being as manifested by thoughts, actions, and meaning. This is the existential existence, recognizing that at least in humans existence does precede essence. Being-in-the-World is a contrast to Being-in-the-Midst. - C - collective - Any organized set of human relationship, however temporary. According to Sartre, any collective exists only for brief instants. “We” is not the natural state of humans, who think in terms of individuality. concepts - General ideas that represent a “class” of objects with common traits. (Object-oriented thinking, in programming terms.) Any descendent object inherits traits of previous members, therefore a concept applying to previous members applies to the new object. conscience - (from NDE) (Latin conscientia: feeling, knowledge) Existentialists are divided in their view of conscience. Some consider conscience to be the moral voice within the individual, helpful and necessary. Others believe conscience to be the product of society and thus completely relative. You and conscience are one. It knows all that you know, and it knows that you know it. — Kierkegaard, Purity of the Heart Is to Will One Thing If we train our conscience, it kisses us while it hurts us.