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Poor existentialists. They have frequently been misunderstood and characterized as pessimists who view a world of isolation and chaos. However, if you read the works of founding existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, it becomes clear that the philosophy is about something different, something far more empowering. That is, existentialism at its core is about embracing one's free will and the responsibility that results from that empowerment.

Existentialism in a Nutshell

Existentialism, like so many other schools of thought, can be a nebulous term to define, but it boils down to the philosophy that each individual defines who they are completely by their choices. As a result, there can be no over-arching concept of human nature in this philosophy, for each person's nature will differ. Just by living and making inevitable choices, in fact, each person becomes their own immediate representative of humanity through their actions.

Moral Principles

With such a flexible definition, both of the philosophy and of the concept of human nature within it, it might seem hard to imagine any moral principles that would fit for existentialists. However, as each person's life becomes a definition of human nature, therein lies the guidance for existential morality.

Sartre, one of the founding existential philosophers, believed that this is a philosophy of action, not despair. In his work "Being and Nothingness," he wrote that each person has the power to make of their life whatever they choose. One day a person might be a coward, but they and they alone have the capability to become a hero the next day. Sartre believed that each person must act as they believe that all of humanity should act, since the only person you can ever truly control is yourself. "For every man," Sartre writes, "everything happens as if all mankind had its eyes fixed on him and were guiding itself by what he does."

No one can ever truly force you to do something; there is always an element of free will involved on your part. Even if you choose not to make a choice, that still stems from your free will. Existentialists therefore believe that each person must use their free will to act as they believe every person should. You have the ultimate control over your own life and nothing else, so you must make that life the best that you can. As Sartre puts it, "The coward makes himself cowardly, [and] the hero makes himself heroic. There's always a possibility for the coward not to be cowardly anymore and for the hero to stop being heroic."

Existentialism is a flexible philosophy; it fits with the atheist beliefs of Sartre as well as the Christian beliefs of the philosopher Kierkegaard. One could argue that, no matter what their belief system, true existentialists are the ultimate followers of the Golden Rule.

Learn more about this author, M. Sparga.
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