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faith in the absurd, the miracle of God made flesh in Christ.

All of this suggest that the notion of a moral code for an Existentialist somehow misses the point: to live an Existential existence is not to follow some, or any, set of rules, but to live an existence so that one can say with pride "I lived this life!" Note that this is not a license to live a life free from moral constraints on the contrary, an Existentialist would always be her own most strident critic, being strict in holding herself to the standards that would challenge one with the realization that each moment, each action must be lived with the realization that it defines the person and creates the value that person makes.

If, then, there are any moral codes for an Existentialist, they would boil down to three guiding principles not rules to follow, but precepts to live by. Pursue excellence in your life and actions, realizing that what does not attain excellence demonstrates a failure to create the highest value and meaning you can. Identify with your actions, make every action something that you would be proud to always claim, realizing that whenever you act against your better judgments or without being wholehearted, you diminish yourself. And strive to the highest of which humanity is capable, never settling for the merely comfortable or pleasant when humanity is capable of more.

Contrary to modern misconception, the Existentialist is not a nihilist, who believes nothing has value, or everything has equal value. The he realizes that creating value is difficult, that living a life that can be looked at as having been valuable requires the utmost from him. But he realizes that all value ultimately derives from himself, and therefore the responsibility for making his life into something is all on his shoulders. The existentialist is moral, only to the extent that he lives his life fully, always holding himself up to the highest standards of humanity.

Learn more about this author, Jonathan Caro.
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