Existentialism is philosophical theory that dismisses abstract theories especially the theories that attempt to disguise the untidiness of the values that dictate human lives. Some of the values that go hand in hand with this philosophical theory include passion, immediacy, intensity, integrity, and responsibility. The aforementioned terms stress on the emotive qualities but existentialists tend to insist on a special understanding of the truth. Some of the extreme existentialists who have a unique understanding of the truth include Emerson who claimed that nothing is static and no fact can be considered sacred because the truth can only be gotten through experiments without relying on the past.
The other extreme existentialist is Nietzche who claims that the postulation that all truth is simple is a pure lie. These attitudes displayed by Emerson and his gang of extreme existentialists are at odds with the traditional western views and these views provide a spiritual and psychological background for the various emotive qualities that are prized by existentialism. These emotive qualities which include passion, immediacy, intensity and responsibility are the basis of existentialism and rejection of these qualities by the extreme existentialists who insist on a unique understanding of the truth puts them on a head on collision course with the traditional western view. These qualities are abeted by the attitudes displayed by Emerson and his ilk because there is an emphasis on every person finding their own way in life especially where it concerns making choices on the emotive qualities they would like to prescribe to and in particular, choices about all serious and momentous life situations.
Each person should be able to make life choices depending on what they value or deem fit without relying on outer standards and practices. The attitudes expressed by Emerson and Nietzche tend to effectively deny that there is a common and acceptable basis that guides the moral process of making decisions and they diverge significantly from the conventional faith related standards which all emotive qualities of existentialism conform to (Barret,1964). Although acceptance of moral values can provide an unbiased avenue for making choices, the belief about the unique qualities of the truth fronted by the extreme existentialists tends to deny the fact that moral standards exist. This is erroneous because the grounds that people use to make choices must be valid and some of the situations that force people to make their choices are subjectively valid. An observer who is not passionate may raise questions about this engagement (Kaufman, 1988). Both agree that human life cannot be complete and cannot satisfy fully because there people suffer and incur losses due to lack of perfection and also people do not have power and control over the situations in their lives.
Though there is no satisfaction, life still maintains its meaning and this is why existentialism is a life long journey that aims at establishing the true meaning of peoples lives.According to Nietzche, simpler situations are always true and the problem is that people tend to complicate standards by engaging the emotive qualities of existentialism instead of focusing on the simple tenets of the truth (Barret, 1962). According to him, simplicity tends to work in almost all things and nature tends to look for the simples and the most efficient ways of doing things and he illustrated his point using the example of the universe, a large body which is controlled by only four forces which are gravity, electromagnetism string and weak.According to extreme existentialists, the truth is as simple as these four forces which control everything around us. However, his postulation is disputed by another existentialist called Mencken who claims that for every complex problem, there is an answer which is vivid, simple and sometimes wrong which implies that passion, immediacy, intensity , integrity and al other emotive qualities of existentialism may be complex but they are sacred, true and always right.
The extreme existentialist attitudes held by Emerson and Nietzsche and their supporters tend to blatantly deny that there is a common and acceptable basis that guides the moral process of making decisions and they diverge significantly from the conventional faith related standards which all emotive qualities of existentialism conform to. These emotive qualities provide the basis for traditional western understanding which is on a head on collision course with the attitudes expressed by extreme existentialists like Emerson and Nietzche. Their denial of the emotive qualities of existentialism by preferring the unique qualities of the truth does not affect the moral standards that govern the choices that people make. Their attitudes are incited by their preference for simplicity and not their concern for the moral standards the qualities and the standards that make up the truth. All in all, their denial does not have any solid ground and it does not affect the validity of the emotive qualities of existentialism. The traditional western existentialism remains valid and relevant despite these extreme objections.
References
Barrett, W. (1962).Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy. New York: Anchor Books.
Barrett, W. (1964). Existentialism. New York: Penguin Books.
Kaufmann, W. (1988).Existentialism: from Dostoevsky to Sartre. New York: Penguin Books.