Existentialism In Jean Paul Sartres Nausea - 1836 Words

Over time two main groups of thought concerning an individual in regards to the rest of humanity have emerged: the individualistic perspective and the collective, or interconnected perspective. The individualistic perspective holds that a group is made up of free thinking individuals who interact with others to form a group which is maintained by some sort of social contract. This is perhaps best exemplified in the core tenets of existentialism. In Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea, one of the forefather texts of existentialism, the main character Roquentin expresses this idea; â€Å"I am alone in the midst of these happy, reasonable voices. All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other. In Heavens†¦show more content†¦Additionally, a belief in karma, or the idea that every action has consequences (what comes around goes around), unites these two religions. The major difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is how to achie ve moksha, or the liberation from the wheel of samsara. In Hinduism, there are many paths, but all end in full realization that Atman, the inner soul, is Brahman, the world soul, and that everything is one. A Buddhist, on the contrary, is liberated from the suffering of this world by following the eightfold path, and ultimately realizes that everything is nothing. In seeming contrast to these notions is existentialism. In the existentialist train of thought, the core tenet is that existence precedes essence. It is radically individualistic, and holds that the self is all that can be known to exist. To existentialists, the world is naturally meaningless, and as humans we must realize this complete freedom and create meaning in our own lives. Now, with a general overview of the parts of the individualistic and interconnected perspectives we will be studying, we can proceed to examine their commonalities. The first attribute which unites Existentialism and Buddhism is their belief in a world of nothingness, and a following individuality of action. Buddhists firmly believe that allShow MoreRelatedThe Life of Jean-Paul Sartre847 Words   |  4 Pages Existentialism could be defined as a philosophical theory that focuses on the individual person being a free and responsible person who determines his or her own development through acts of will. Existentialism is a thesis that has been discussed by some of the greatest philosophical minds ever to live. Minds such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche all had their own view on what existentialism was and major impact on the development of this thesis. 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