Its To Exist That's Essential

The internet website allaboutphilosophy.org informs me that existentialism is a philosophy centered upon the analysis of existence and the way humans find themselves existing in the world. The notion is that humans exist first and then each individual spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature. Put simply, existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility.

Last week in my other subject of English we discussed issues of gender and how society constructs and molds the individual. This and an influential quote from the French writer Simone de Beauvoir is highly relevant to the theme of existentialism. Simone de Beauvoir wrote in her book The Second Sex that, "One is not born a woman, one becomes one." It was her belief in existentialist feminism that the social construction of a woman is paramount to oppression. Beauvoir anticipated that women were moving beyond this constraint and would reach a position where they would take personal responsibilities for their own choices.

This view neatly corresponds with the philosophy of Existentialism. A person is at their best when struggling against their individual nature, with the human free will to discover their self.

Nietzsche's Fight Club

A couple of weeks back I blogged on the impact Nietzsche's work had on Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Last night, as part of a conscious attempt to view films I really should have seen by now, I watched Fight Club. Once the big twist hit me I discovered the influence our German friend has had on another film. Tyler Durden is the mental creation of the narrator. He is everything he wished he was. Out of the despair and confusion he finds residing in his life, the narrator creates his very own 'Nietzschean Overman'. The super-human that embraces violence with superior will to power.

Interesting to see Friedrich pop up again. I'll be keeping my eye out for him.