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PSYCHICS OF THE 1900S  

The Logic Of Existential Meaning

"When we reflect on this struggle, we mayinauthentic  or  done  in  bad  faith.
console ourselves with the full belief, that
the war of nature is not incessant, that noThe Existentialist sees that human condition
fear is felt, that death is generally prompt,is that of free commitment. God doesn't exist
and that the vigorous, the healthy, and thetherefore humanity is in a state of
happy survive and multiply." - Charles Darwinabandonment with no transcending beings or
(1).priori's to guide us. Sartre commits to the
notion of individual freedom as the only
Darwin of course was unjustified in hishuman priori but denies that there is any
belief; fear seems to be the most universalhuman nature as a priori because there is
of emotions both for human beings and theonly a "human universality of condition"
greater animal kingdom. This emotion though(17). This is a sceptical argument like 'the
is not simply reserved in human life in thesun rises every morning but how will we know
struggle for existence; we feel fear andif it will rise tomorrow' or in our case 'Man
anxiety when we make choices about theacts in certain pattens but how do we know he
direction of our lives. This is our strugglewill tomorrow? " Thus because of the
for meaning. The current piece will focus onuncertainty of our condition human-beings
discourses of and relevant to that strugglelive not only in anguish but in despair, 'if
and concepts surrounding it. LinkingI take action in support of a goal, how do I
discourses diverse as logic and the Abrahamicknow others will act in support?" This means
religions to find the structure of thisthat despair is the emotion that man feels
struggle.because he acts without hope. To summarise,
the point of Sartre's existentialism is to
In 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'give humanity its divinity as its own creator
Wittgenstein argued that: "Propositionsand along with this divinity its
cannot represent the logical form: thisresponsibility.
mirrors itself in the propositions" (2).Thus
the logic of a symbolism be it language orThere is a certain contradiction in this
mathematics cannot be found outside of thatthought, that of a false objective subjective
symbolism. Because the logic of thatdichotomy. The actions and experiences of
symbolism is its very structure, its schema.every particular individual never seem to add
The "propositional sign cannot be containedup to the totality of what is the human
in itself" (3) but a "sign determines aexperience. If each individual is tied to the
logical form only together with its logicalconcept of existence precedes essence it
syntactic  application"  (4).becomes an objective fact of human
experience, not simply a subjective
Language is according to Wittgenstein aphenomena. The Existentialists are right in
series of atomic propositions about thesaying that man lives in anguish, because we
world; its symbolism is a picture of thehave choices and responsibility for those
world, of reality and everything that is thechoices. For whom he is in relation to the
case. The truth-argument which a propositionexternal forces. But they are wrong to
makes is its picture of the world; thepreclude the idea of an objective meaning of
truth-value is determined by the ability tolife. If each particular individual's life is
provide proofs for the validity of themade up of a series of choices about the
picture.values to which they affirm and live for then
the root purpose of humanity in the objective
Further argument put forward in thesense is the struggle for purpose - for our
Tractatus, "The limits of my language meanmeaning.
the limits of my world" (5), therefore in
following this argument so far WittgensteinPart of this failure by the Sartrean
conceives a linguistic limit in ourexistentialists is that their ontological
understanding of the world. But he furtherinquiries were carried out under a kind of
stipulates that "For an answer which cannotbad faith, under the illusion of a particular
be expressed the question too cannot besemi-moralistic theory of authenticity and
expressed. The riddle does not exist."(6)bad faith. Their conceptualisation of
I.e. if you have a question there is ancausality in relation to the individual could
answer, "most questions and propositions ofnot touch upon the notion of conditioning or
the philosophers result from the fact that wethe zone of proximal development because any
do not understand the logic of oursuch thing would negate individual
language...And so it is not to be wondered atresponsibility as part of our nature of
that the deepest problems are really nobeing. Individual agency is a component of
problems"  (7).the human condition but not to the extent
envisioned by the French existentialists,
During the second part of the Tractatus,death for one is normally a decisive decision
Wittgenstein turns his attention from logicalbut  not  one  we  make.
symbolism and the rules by which philosophy
must separate sense from senselessness toThe inevitability of death futures highly in
questions about the meaning of life, ethicsdiscourses surrounding the notions of human
and  religious  mysticism.life and it's meaning. In "At the Gravesite"
Kierkegaard likened the nature of death's
"The world and life are one" (8), we would beinfluence on life to scarcity in economics.
mistaken if we thought Wittgenstein felt theIf a merchant dumps a shipment of products at
sense of the world and therefore life wassea because the market is already saturated
found inside the world and life. That thewith a high supply it creates an artificial
Schema of the world would be found in thescarcity which increases the price of the
totality of its particulars, this logic wouldremaining product. If we did not die and life
correlate with the rules set out for awas infinite, then life according to
logical symbolism. But we cannot gain fromKierkegaard would be of little value. This
Wittgenstein  such  consistency  of  logic.adds an extra dimension to our anguish
because our ability to affirm life and what
"The sense of the world must lie outside thewe consider worthy values is finite and
world. In the world everything is as it isscarce. Camus believed that this was not our
and happens as it does happen. In it there isfirst concern; firstly we must concern
no value - and if there were, it would be ofourselves with whether or not the value in
no  value."  (9)life  is  valuable  at  all.
It is in this sense that WittgensteinThe first question of a rational person in
dissolves the question of meaning in life,Camus's mind was to be or not to be, the
opting out by two common techniques used inquestion of suicide. He very tactfully at the
inadequate philosophical systems. Firstly tostart of 'The Myth of Sisyphus' stated his
look for life's meaning outside of life andbelief that life should be lived and that
in conjunction with or separately neglectssuicide is absurd in itself, lest some
the internal logic of the philosophicalunlucky soul become connived of the
system to render meaning meaningless. It iscorrectness of his arguments before fully
with this respect that Wittgenstein hascompleting the text. To understand Camus's
similarities with both the theologian and theideas we must understand he detested being
absurdist, in strake contrast to hiscalled a "philosopher of the absurd".
grammatical  theory  of  meaning.Expressing his motivation and in 'The Enigma'
Camus wrote "Thus one becomes a prophet of
The impulse of the theologian or mystic is tothe absurd. Yet what did I do expect reason
seek otherworldly explanations for worldlyabout an idea with I found in the streets of
questions. Karl Marx famously summarised thismy time?"(18). As one understands now Camus's
impulse as such during the introduction ofwork function more as a meditation and open
his "Critique of Hegel's philosophy ofdebate then a complete system of thought. He
right":linked 'absurd reasoning' with that of Edmund
Husserl's phenomenology in that it "declines
"Religious suffering is the expression ofto explain the world, it wants to be merely a
real suffering and at the same time thedescription of actual experience" (19). The
protest against real suffering. Religion isAbsurd is best characterised as a mood of a
the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heartnihilistic nature marred by the disunity of
of a heartless world, as it is the spirit ofuniversal and particular. This disunity is
spiritless condition. It is the opium of thethe same objective (universal)-subjective
people"  (10).(particular) dichotomy which rendered life's
meaning in the existentialist systems
Marx goes further to assert that "abolitionmeaningless.
of religion as people's illusory happiness is
the demand for their real happiness" (11).It was an idea that captivated a generation,
According to this view of religion itbut unlike Kierkegaard they found faith
functions as a mere placebo-worldview, wheredeficient, not accepting it as an answer to
one finds substitutive satisfaction inthe question of absurdity. Like Nietzsche who
sacrificing this world for the sake of thefound god dead upon his throne, behind the
after-world. Sigmund Freud went as far tostone walls of heaven, Camus sought a way
characterise religion as a mass delusion orbeyond the crisis of "our darkness nihilism"
social neurosis. "Neurotics" he wrote "create(20). If an individual finds absolutely no
substitutive satisfaction for themselves inmeaning in life then from some perspectives
their symptoms, but these either createthey should kill themselves. But suicide
suffering in themselves or become sources ofwould be an absurd answer, to choose death is
suffering by causing the subjectsto affirm a value in absolute nihilism and
difficulties in their relations with theirthus commit a self-contradicting act. There
surroundings and society" (12). From theis no absolute nihilism as such a thing is
angle of aesthetics, whether an individualnon-existent. Equally there is no eternal
chooses to engage in such delusion isabsolute meaning like that of the Hegelian
completely their own choice as westerndialectic in the nature of life which unifies
secularisation has largely removed theand dictates both objective and subjective
state's powers of coercion in such affairs.meaning - there is no 'objective' standard of
Recently, with the growth of Pentecostalismsubjective values such a thing is absurd.
though, and other fundamentalist ChristianCamus true to his inconsistent logic of the
sects, there have been renewed pushes toabsurd chose to 'rebel' against the
reclaim those powers for religiousmeaninglessness by asserting his own relative
application. With the aim of correctlyvalue, all of course equally absurd. If we
understanding Human life the religious vieware to judge Camus's conclusions I'm not sure
is a misdirection of analytical focus andthat we could fault him. His premise was not
thus damaging in our pursuit of answers toto explain our nature of being in the
our  riddles.objective sense but rather actual experience,
though he almost achieves it all the same.
In response to this Agnosticism or Atheism isFrom the stand point of understanding our
the application of Occam's razor, "if a signontological condition as human beings, he
is not necessary then it is meaningless"shows the absurdity of nihilism while also
(13). The existence or non-existence of godthe inconsistency of eternal abstractions.
is irrelevant from the standpoint of humanBut Absurdism misses the simple addition of
life. If we engaged in the entertainment ofthe subjective conditions into its universal
such abstractions we place ourselves on acommonality of condition, or its
metaphysical treadmill, 'what comes beforemega-structure.
alpha?' only to redefine alpha and ask the
question  yet  again.To miss this mega-structure, to find the
notion of life's meaning incomprehensible is
Therefore religious faith offers up noto do so upon the notion of its inventible
answers for the inquisitive mind. Sørenincomprehensibility. In actuality we have a
Kierkegaard, a Christian himself, definedgreat body of empirical data, the annals of
faith as absolute belief in the absence ofhistory and our own personal experience with
reason on the basis of the absurd. "For hewhich to answer the question, what is the
who loves god without faith reflects onmeaning of life? Its answer is situated
himself, while the person who loves god inwithin the structure of empirical data; the
faith reflects on god" (14). Abraham believedmeaning of life is imbued in the very
in the absence of all evidence that god wouldstructure of life. It is the very struggle
spare his Isaac upon the mount of Moriah. Hefor purpose and the affirmation of values,
first sacrificed his critical capacity alongwhether or not one individual agrees with
with his ethic duty to Isaac and his ownanother's subjective affirmations is
emotional bond as father to son. Choosing toirrelevant from our perspective of
follow his duty to god, thus we have theontological investigation, from objective
archetype of the religious man. One surelymeaning. For our nihilistic mood we shall
recognises this condition in the modernturn to psychoanalysis for some elucidation.
suicide  bomber.According to the theory of Jacques Lacan
during clinical practice the patient supposes
On all grounds the religious impulse is aa secret knowledge on the analyst. During the
condition of poverty offering no answers,processes of analysis the subject starts to
just resignation to an unseen father figure'de-suppose' the analyst, realising they have
and a supposedly loving relationship foundedno secret knowledge. Losing faith in their
upon silence. Leaving behind the road todependency on the analyst they are forced to
Damascus we come upon the second failing ofrealise their own unconscious desire to
Wittgenstein and that of inadequateremain dependent on the neurosis. The patient
philosophical systems. This is to deny theis therefore forced to recognise the place of
logic of a system to render meaning aspersonal agency in pursuit of mental health.
meaningless. Philosophers such as Jean-PaulWhatever reservation one has in regards to
Sartre and the absurdists are guilty of thisLacanian psychoanalysis, the concept helps to
failing.illustrate the nature of our question, that
there is no secret knowledge, we already know
According to early work of Sartrebut merely have to assert our agency to
consciousness is immaterial thus the rules ofresolve the existential crisis and the mood
cause and effect that govern in the materialof absurdity. If of course that is what we
world have its causation chain broken when anwant  at  all.
individual's volition is in play. Man is the
embodiment of freedom, man chooses his pathNotes:
with a free will and therefore determinism is
just an incoherent philosophic attitude of1) "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin,
self-deceivers.(Penguin,  London  1985),  page  129.
The anti-determinism of the existentialist2) "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by Ludwig
leads to their advocacy of subjectivism.Wittgenstein, (Dover, Mineola 1999),
Individuals with their immaterialproposition  4.121,  page  53.
consciousness interpret objects of the
intersujective world and then act upon them.3)  Ibid,  proposition  3.332,  page  42.
Because human action is subjective there is
no objective human nature and no objective4)  Ibid,  proposition  3.327,  page  42.
meaning thus life is intrinsically
meaningless. Subjective meaning is affirmed5)  Ibid,  proposition  5.6,  page  88.
on life by the action of the individual. Thus
man's  existence  precedes  his  essence.6)  Ibid,  proposition  6.5,  page  107.
"If indeed existence precedes essence, one7)  Ibid,  proposition  4.003,  page  45.
will never be able to explain one's actions
by reference to a given and specific human8)  Ibid,  proposition  5.621,  page  89.
nature: in other words, there is no
determinism- man is free, man is freedom"9)  Ibid,  proposition  6.41,  page  105.
(15). With this in mind the Existentialist
declares "I am thus responsible for myself10) "Writings of the young Marx on Philosophy
and for all man, and I am creating a certainand Society" (Anchor Books, Garden City
image of man I would have to be. In1969),  page  250.
fashioning  myself  I  fashion  man".
11)  Ibid.
The existentialist states that because man is
responsible for himself (and humanity) he is12) "Civilization and its Discontents" by
in anguish. He is in anguish because as soonSigmund Freud, (Penguin, Suffolk 2004), page
as he commits to any act he feels the56.
responsibility for himself and humanity. The
existentialist does not claim to have moral13) "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by
authority over humanity his subjectivismLudwig Wittgenstein, (Dover, Mineola 1999),
doesn't allow objective virtue; he declaresproposition  3.328,  page  42.
"if I regard a certain course of action as
good, it is only I who choose to say that it14) "Fear and Trembling" by Søren
is good and not bad" (16). There is nothingKierkegaard, (Penguin, St Ives 2003), page
for the existentialist to reference in the66.
process of choosing right or wrong; the
choice falls to what he can live with by15) "Existentialism is a Humanism" by
being responsible for its results on him andJean-Paul  Sartre,
humanity.
16)  Ibid.
Humanity during the reign of terror sent
alleged royalists to climb the scaffolds.17)  Ibid.
Jean-Paul Marat felt his actions were that of
a philanthropist, cutting off five or six18) "Selected Essays & Notebooks" By Albert
hundred heads for the benefit of humanity. InCamus,  (penguin  Aylesbury  1979), page 144.
the philosophical system of the
Existentialist the moral merits of this19) "The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus,
action are neither objective nor universal.(penguin  Aylesbury  1983),  page  44.
What Sartre does judge though is whether or
not the action is authentic or in bad faith.20) "Selected Essays & Notebooks" By Albert
If one blames others for their own action andCamus, (penguin Aylesbury 1979), page 145.
denies responsibility that action is



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