The existentialists conclude that human choice is subjective (personal), because individuals finally must make their own choices without help from such external standards as laws, ethical rules, or traditions. Because individuals make their own choices, they are free; but because they freely choose, they are completely responsible for their choices. The existentialists emphasize that freedom is necessarily accompanied by responsibility. (In other words, your actions are your choice, not just based on what you’re expected to do.) Furthermore, since individuals are forced to choose for themselves, they have their freedom — and therefore their responsibility — thrust upon them. They are “condemned to be free.”
For existentialism, responsibility is the dark side of freedom. When individuals realize that they are completely responsible for their decisions, actions, and beliefs, they are overcome by anxiety, or “angst”. They try to escape from this anxiety by ignoring or denying their freedom and their responsibility. But because this amounts to ignoring or denying their actual situation, they succeed only in deceiving themselves (by acting in “bad faith,” clinging to social expectations and traditions so they can feel “part of society” rather than confront the understanding that they are all alone in the world). The existentialists criticize this flight from freedom and responsibility into self-deception (that ultimately leads to inauthenticity). They insist that individuals must accept full responsibility for their behavior, no matter how difficult. If an individual is to live meaningfully and authentically, he or she must become fully aware of the true character of the human situation and bravely accept it. And, by accepting it, the individual must live as authentically as possible and bring meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence.
- World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia © 2001 by World Book, Inc.
Ivan Soll, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison. (My additions in italics.)
The existentialists conclude that human choice is subjective (personal), because individuals finally must make their own choices without help from such external standards as laws, ethical rules, or traditions. Because individuals make their own choices, they are free; but because they freely choose, they are completely responsible for their choices. The existentialists emphasize that freedom is necessarily accompanied by responsibility. (In other words, your actions are your choice, not just based on what you’re expected to do.) Furthermore, since individuals are forced to choose for themselves, they have their freedom — and therefore their responsibility — thrust upon them. They are “condemned to be free.”
For existentialism, responsibility is the dark side of freedom. When individuals realize that they are completely responsible for their decisions, actions, and beliefs, they are overcome by anxiety, or “angst”. They try to escape from this anxiety by ignoring or denying their freedom and their responsibility. But because this amounts to ignoring or denying their actual situation, they succeed only in deceiving themselves (by acting in “bad faith,” clinging to social expectations and traditions so they can feel “part of society” rather than confront the understanding that they are all alone in the world). The existentialists criticize this flight from freedom and responsibility into self-deception (that ultimately leads to inauthenticity). They insist that individuals must accept full responsibility for their behavior, no matter how difficult. If an individual is to live meaningfully and authentically, he or she must become fully aware of the true character of the human situation and bravely accept it. And, by accepting it, the individual must live as authentically as possible and bring meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence.
- World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia © 2001 by World Book, Inc.
Ivan Soll, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison. (My additions in italics.)