This blog is a part of a thinking activity given by Dilip Barad Sir from The English Department, MKBU, Bhavnagar. Check out Dilip Barad sir's Blog Site (Click here) for more information and knowledge about Existentialism and Flipped Learning and other works and writers. In this blog I like to tell something about Existentialism (with the help of videos given in the Teacher's Blog (Click here)) and Flipped Learning as per my understanding. So, mostly we heard about Literature and things but something new entered in the world of Literature and learning called Flipped Learning so, let's see what this thing is about.
FLIPPED LEARNING: Flipped learning is a methodology that helps teachers to prioritize active learning during class time by assigning students lecture materials and presentations to be viewed at home or outside of class. To know more about Flipped Learning visit this site (Click here).
EXISTENTIALISM:-
VIDEO - 1 (What is Existentialism?)
According to this video. It is believed that Existentialism starts with by Kierkegaard but there are so many other Philosopher and Existentialists too such as Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Sartre, Shetsov, Hesse, Beauvior, etc. who contributed in this movement. For all of them of course points of view are different but they all believe in basic thought which is individuality along with passion and freedom. According to Camus, to believe in God is philosophical Suicide. Existentialism mostly popular among youth because its cover most common subjects like passion, emotion, suicide, anguish, absurdity, death, freedom etc.
VIDEO - 2 (The Myth of Sisyphus: The Absurd Reasoning (Feeling of the Absurd))
When we say Absurdity we first think of Albert Camus who gave ideas on this thought very deeply. He begins this essay by saying that 'There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.' Further more he says that 'I see so many people dying because they find life worthless, We are concerned here, at the outset, with the relationship between individuals thoughts on suicide and act like this is prepared within the Silence of the heart, as is a great work of art.' In simple words when a person finds that life has no meaning, he suddenly realised that this feeling is called absurdity, naturally after this he likes death more than life. According to Camus, In truth, there is no necessary common measure between these two judgements. For the question emerging, Is there any logic to the point of death? He answered, I cannot know unless I pursue, without reckless passion, in the sole light of evidence, the reasoning of which I am here suggesting the source. This is what I called an absurd reasoning.
VIDEO - 3: (The Myth of Sisyphus: the notion of philosophical suicide)
Indeed life is absurd, most of the people do not hesitate to reflect upon life to see its absurdity but those who try to escape from it by committee what Camus called Philosophical Suicide. There are only two ways to escape from this absurdity, one is to do physical suicide and end this life and second is denial of this absurdity and committing philosophical suicide. According to Camus, he doesn't recognise him as an existentialist though he was part of that movement. He says that Existentialists do recognise the absurd but instead of embracing it they suggest escaping it. He says, 'I am taking the liberty at this point of calling the existential attitude philosophical society.'
VIDEO - 4: (Dadaism, Nihilism and Existentialism)
Dadaism was an art movement that emerged in the early 20th century, around the time of World War I. Dadaism was a response to the horrors and absurdities of war, and it rejected traditional artistic and cultural values in favor of a more anarchic and subversive approach. Nihilism is a philosophical belief that life and the universe have no inherent meaning or value. Nihilists reject the existence of any objective moral or ethical standards, and they believe that all human endeavors are ultimately futile. Artists like Hugo Ball, Janco, Jean Arp, Tristan Tzara, etc who were disgusted by the war moved to Zurich and founded the Dada Movement, they say Creation isn't the primary goal of Dadaism, Dadaism is not about art and being artistic rather it's merely and art movement. Nietzsche described this movement, Whom do they hate most? Him who breaks up their tables of values, the breaker, the lawbreaker. He, however, is the creator. Hugo Ball in his manifesto writes, how can one get rid of everything that smacks of journalism, worms, everything nice and right, blinkered, moralistic, europeanised, enervated? By saying dada. Further he says that 'I don't want words that other people have invented.' In short, Dadaism has nothing to do with existentialism and nihilism, it is a response for WWI.
VIDEO - 5: (Existentialism - a gloomy philosophy)
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual existence and freedom, and the search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless and chaotic world. It emerged in the 20th century, particularly in Europe after the devastation of World War II. According to different Philosophers of the field, it should be you who judge every value in choosing your own meaning in life, and after doing that you should accept the result of your choice and consequences. Another point is to be noted that Existentialism isn't Narcissist Philosophy. Existentialism leads us to Nihilism but Existentialism isn't Nihilism. Existentialism is a movement which is a response to the World War where despair and absurdity linked every corner for every individual, so, Existentialism is a response to this emptiness. After WWII it was Existentialism who came as a cure for those who feel life is meaningless.
VIDEO - 6: (Existentialism and Nihilism: Is it one and the same?)
Existentialism and Nihilism are totally different ideas, every existentialist fights against Nihilism. For Kierkegaard, Nihilism can be defined as the loss of individuality. For Nietzsche, Nihilism is that the highest values devalue themselves.
Emil Cioran writes, "At twenty we rage against the heavens and the filth they hide; then we grow tired of it. The tragic attitudes suit only an extent and ridicules puberty." (Regier)
In contrast to this attitude Camus wrote 'The Myth of Sisyphus' and 'The Rebel' to argue why rebellion is the only proper to the absurdity of life.
VIDEO - 7: (Let us introduce Existentialism again!)
Existentialism is not a philosophical system nor should it even be viewed as a set of doctrines rather it is probably best classified as a philosophical movement as a movement existentialism arose in 19th Century Europe. Robert Solomon expressed it in his work from Hegel to existentialism,Existentialism is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world. Existentialists all share a common concern with what some have termed the human condition. Existentialist thinkers have differed widely on their evaluations of the human condition.Religious and philosophical systems which offer such definitive answers to life's questions. While facing the human condition and life's inescapable problems as an individual without the assistance of a pre-made religion or philosophically. Existentialists are largely in favor of individuals finding answers to life's problems on their own.
The idea of being able to freely choose standards of value and create meaning and purpose in one's own life is closely related to another famous existential idea that for humans existence precedes essence. This idea was put forth by Jean-Paul Sartre in a lecture he gave in 1945 titled "Existentialism a humanism".
The concept of an essence is put forth most famously in the work of the ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle. Aristotle believed that every substance or in other words every independent thing be it a person, a rock or a tree has an essence. The essence of a substance is also sometimes referred to as its nature and Can be seen as the necessary properties or characteristics which are essential for the thing to be what it is.
A poetic warning by Nietzsche, "Injustice and filth they throw after the lonely one but my brother if you would be a star you must not shine less for them because of that and Beware of the good and the just they like to crucify those who invent their own virtue for themselves - they hate the lonely one.
VIDEO - 8: (Explain like I'm Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche)
This is a fun loving kind of video which gave basic idea about Existentialism. First one is According to Nietzsche, We should make our own rules and live up to that. Then he gave the idea about what Ubermensch is? In simple words, It is a word in German that means Superman who can do whatever he wants to do.
VIDEO - 9: (Why I like Existentialism? Eric Dodson)
In this video Eric Dodson discusses his point of view about Existentialism. According to him, Existentialism has two sides. The first one deals with an obvious side which has specific ideas and specialised vocabulary and the second deals with deeper thought about the way of life or sense of existential way to live. Existentialism affects the mind and heart both. Furthermore, he likes that Existentialism or existentialists are much more straightforward than average and they are not afraid of talking The dark side of existentialism which deals with Anxiety and death. Existentialism accepts how we are in the context of Holism. Existentialism has a rebellious way of thinking for the sake of understanding things better and more deeply. With a deeply understanding of existentialism he talks about how existentialism affects him and he gives the idea that before knowing existentialism he was thinking for the sake of doing things but now for him sometimes thinking feels more like waves of passion. Existentialism has the ideas of Buddhism and with that existentialism is teaching compassion too. Existentialism helps to be aware of our own suffering which makes us know about the suffering of others. Existentialism teaches him to live moment by moment in a deeper way. To understand more deeply he also gave us 10 things to do to live more Existentially.
Remember that you are born to a brilliant and terrifying universe
Build responsible community
Recover the ability to play
Inhabit the present moment
Learn to live with passion
See how free you can be
Lay claim to your power in life
Honor life's difficult experiences
Start relating to the big picture
Question what you have been told
This video ends with an idea that, remember you are human which in itself extraordinary and brilliant destiny.
VIDEO - 10: (Let us sum up: From Essentialism to Existentialism)
This video starts with the idea about Philosophy that Philosophy is about the dialectic; someone puts forth an idea, and then someone else responds to it. Plato and Aristotle tells us that everything has an essence which makes a particular thing that thing and gives it purpose and also that essence exists before us. But Philosophers and Writers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre give their own ideas about Nihilism and return to the question of essence and ask what if we exist first? And what if we are born to find our own essence? These become the framework for what we now know as Existentialism. Existentialism is connected with absurdity, some can think absurdity as something just silly or preposterous but for Existentialists, absurdity is a technical term which means the search for answers in an answerless world. One of the key ideas in existentialism is the concept of "authenticity." Authenticity refers to living in accordance with one's own values and beliefs, rather than conforming to societal expectations or living a life that is inauthentic. According to existentialists, living an authentic life is essential to achieving true happiness and fulfillment.
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