What is existentialism and does anyone understand I heart Huckabees ?

Answer 1

In I heart Huckabees the buddhist philosophy of the middle way is cleverly presented through a few individuals struggling to find the meaning of their existence. The characters in the movie identify more or less with one of the sides presented:

Existentialism is a philosophical attitude associated esp. with Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel, and Sartre, and opposed to rationalism and empiricism, that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices. This view is represented by the couple in the movie trying to show the individuals that meaning is self based and that you are ultimately in control of your life.

While on the other hand the french character represents nihilism which represents a view that ultimately nothing has no meaning as even the self does not truly exist.

The nexus of these two philosophies occurs when the main character has a catharsis and realizes that reality is ultimately self based yet the self is only an idea and ultimately he does not exist, yet here he is seeming to exist, in other words: the middle way.

Answer 2

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What is existentialism and does anyone understand I heart Huckabees ?

Answer 3

Existentialism is a philosophical system pioneered by Kierkergaard using Kant's basic ideas that the only thing we can know is experience as stepping-off place.
This system divides existence into three categories: aesthethic, ethical, and religious. The child is an example is an example of an individual who lives almost exclusively at the aesthetic level. For the child, all choices are based from pleasure and pain, and experience is ephemeral. Take a candy away from a child, pain emerges, give the candy back, pleasure is gratified, with no continuity or meaning. The ethical level of experience involves choice. And religious is the awareness of one's individuality and singleness. To live any religious means of sacrifice by being true to oneself.
I haven't had the chance to read on it, but I will keep an eye on it(I heart Huckabees)

Answer 4

From Wikipedia: Existentialism is a philosophical movement in which individual human beings are understood as having full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own lives.

I've always learned that existentialism is negative in the way that existentialists are depressed or don't really care about life. They feel as though we drift through life, not really touching one another, not really affecting anyone else. It's kind of a sad thought, really.

Answer 5

The deterministic notion that responsibility is an instantaneous absolutely self determining reality. Self blame and blame for other for self should be the same thing and of equal value; in the final stage for human cognitive construction, formal cognitive operations become existent.

The Will is positive, the Judgment is negative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html

Stages of Cognitive Development. Piaget identified four stages in cognitive development:

Sensorimotor stage (Infancy). In this period (which has 6 stages), intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world is limited (but developing) because its based on physical interactions / experiences. Children acquire object permanence at about 7 months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbollic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this stage.

Pre-operational stage (Toddler and Early Childhood). In this period (which has two substages), intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversable manner. Egocentric thinking predominates

Concrete operational stage (Elementary and early adolescence). In this stage (characterized by 7 types of conservation: number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, volume), intelligence is demonstarted through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects. Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes.

Formal operational stage (Adolescence and adulthood). In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.