Grappling the existential concept of freedom
Do you find philosophy tough?
I do, but I enjoy it because philosophers tackle tough issues of existence. The existential philosophers Camus and Sartre did not always agree. Most philosophers seldom agree with anyone, even themselves.
Albert Camus loved paradoxes. He was an absurdist existential philosopher, which means that he believed our existence is ultimately what we create, and that in the end the whole universe is absurd. In a world which is not free, of which earth is an example, one must behave with absolute freedom in order to resist and rebel. But what he means by "become absolutely free" is difficult to understand here.
Is freedom a state of mind, a physical state, or both? How can the world be unfree while you remain free? You can be free regardless of the circumstances around you, if you create an internal identity, a space that no one else can touch. When you find freedom and latch on to it, you are rebelling against whatever binds or confines you, according to Albert Camus.
Paul Sartre suggests that humans are condemned to existence, which sounds like Camus' term an "unfree world." He is correct in that we do not have a choice in being born. We are not free to choose whether we come into existence or not. He believed that we are "responsible for everything" we do, and so he is correct that we are condemned.
The problem is that he is not clear on who we are responsible to. Within the context of Paul Sartre's existentialism, that would be ourselves. So, we are condemned because we are born without choice, and we are responsible for every act we make after that. But, we are also free to choose what morality is.
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What are your thoughts on existence and freedom? Do you feel condemned to exist or are you happy to be here? How might you make your existence happier?
By Darin L. Hammond
Works for BlogCatalog, owns and writes at ZipMinis.com, and freelances as a writer and designer. Darin Publishes across the web on sites like Technorati, BC Blog, Blog Critics, Broowaha, Demand Media Studios, and Social Media Today. Google