Existence Precedes Essence
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An Existence Precedes Essence is a dictum that ...
References
2015
- (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/existence_precedes_essence Retrieved:2015-12-11.
- The proposition that existence precedes essence () is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and immutable than its existence (the mere fact of its being). [1] To existentialists, human beings—through their consciousness—create their own values and determine a meaning for their life because the human being does not possess any inherent identity or value. That identity or value must be created by the individual. By posing the acts that constitute him or her, he or she makes his or her existence more significant. [2] [3] The idea can be found in the works of philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in the 19th century, [4] but was explicitly formulated by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in the 20th century. The three-word formula originated in his 1946 lecture “Existentialism Is a Humanism", [5] though antecedent notions can be found in Heidegger's Being and Time. [6] Sartre's close confidante Simone de Beauvoir also uses this concept in her feminist existentialism to develop the idea that "one is not born a woman, but becomes one".
- ↑ Plato, Timaeus ; Aristotle, Metaphysics ; St Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, Pars 3:1, Summa Theologiae, Pars 1:1, etc. Analysis of "existence before essence" in Etienne Gilson, The Christian Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Introduction.
- ↑ (Dictionary) "L'existencialisme" - see "l'identité de la personne"
- ↑ Encyclopédie de la jeunesse, 1979, p.567
- ↑ Kierkegaard, Søren. Philosophical Fragments, 1844.
- ↑ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- ↑ Sartre, in Being and Nothingness (1943), credits a slightly longer version of the claim to Heidegger: "Now freedom has no essence. It is not subject to any logical necessity; we must say of it what Heidegger said of the Dasein in general: 'In it existence precedes and commands essence.'" However, Sartre gives no page reference for this citation. In Being and Time, Heidegger writes: "The 'essence' of human-being lies in its existence." ("Das 'Wesen' des Daseins liegt in seiner Existenz", Sein und Zeit, p. 42.)
1943
- (Sartre, 1943) ⇒ Jean-Paul Sartre. (1943). “L'être et le Néant (Being and Nothingness)."