Existential Despair?

Fear? If I have gained anything by damning myself, it is that I no longer have anything to fear.

 -Jean-Paul Sartre

Existentialism has often been looked at as a doctrine of despair, as it despises and even ridicules man's attempts to find comfort and safety in a cruel and unforgiving world. For those unfamiliar with what existentialism is in the first place, here is a short-hand form of the definition from our friends at wikipedia:

In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Put simply, existentialism is the realization that life is pointless, your ambitions and dreams are (mostly) pointless, human interactions are pointless, etc. For many people, the spectre of existential despair rears its ugly head during the phase of early adulthood and generally fucks with your sense of self-worth and your relationship with not just the world, but with yourself. 

 

Even Gerard Butler gets depressed sometimes.

 

The spectre of existential despair shadows your actions with a nagging feeling that nothing you do will ever truly matter because, after all, there are 7 billion other humans that have been granted a life much like yours but under profoundly different circumstances. Who are you to try and make a name for yourself? Who are you to succeed when so many others have failed? Questions like these rip and tear at the psyche, making you truly question what you're all about, and if you have the gall to face down the abyssal chasm that existential despair creates within your heart. To live with the knowledge and acceptance that you, as a human, are infinitesimally small, absolutely miniscule in the grand scheme of things, requires a deep level of confidence and assurance about yourself; you have to be sure of yourself and your actions, and you have to always be aware of the repercussions and consequences your actions, intended or otherwise. This is by no means an easy task to accomplish, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone that can do this at all times. In short, you have to be a little like this guy:

 

Just kidding.

 

There is an upside to existentialism, believe it or not. Even though existential despair is a crushing, even debilitating realization, there is hope. In his defense of existentialism, a lecture entitled "Existentialism is a Humanism", Sartre states, "Thus, the first effect of existentialism is that it puts every man in possession of himself as he is, and places the entire responsibility for his existence squarely upon his own shoulders". Here Sartre gives a poignant and yet simplistic summation of his belief  in Man, that we are free to craft any destiny we desire. Responsibility, not only for yourself, but for all of Mankind, is what Sartre is referring to when he speaks of existentialism. You are totally and completely responsible for the actions you take in your life, and in taking action and making decisions you are also interacting in a world full of people who are also responsible for their actions. For example, if you decide to marry, not only are you deliberately making a decision in your life, but your decision affects the lives of your future bride, her family, her friends, etc. You are in complete control over your decisions at all times, even if your life, in the end, accounts for nothing more than a passing glance from some stranger as you board the subway train and flit out of their existence forever.

 

This feeling of responsibility, however, is what causes the anxiety present in the people that feel they are trapped in the bottomless pit of existential despair. This suffering, which is indeed the burden of all humanity, can be defined using three terms borrowed from Sartre: anguish, abandonment, and despair. Anguish is the inescapable responsibility of being, of existing. As we exist, we also perpetually decide for ourselves what our life will be like. Anguish is the realization that you and you alone are held accountable for your actions because what you decide has the potential to affect many people. In the same lecture, Sartre provides a vivid example of anguish at work:

 "It is anguish pure and simple, of the kind well known to all those who have borne responsibilities. When, for instance, a military leader takes upon himself the responsibility for an attack and sends a number of men to their death, he chooses to do it and at bottom he alone chooses. No doubt under a higher command, but its orders, which are more general, require interpretation by him and upon that interpretation depends the life of ten, fourteen or twenty men. In making the decision, he cannot but feel a certain anguish."

 

Anguish is but one aspect of suffering that existentialism highlights. Abandonment is the notion that God has well and truly sodded off, leaving us poor humans to travail this life without His intervention on our behalf. Obviously, this only applies whether or not you buy into the belief in God at all, and that is a whole 'nother can of worms altogether. In the absence of God, morality becomes an issue, for who can say in this fucked up world what is right and what is wrong? Again, Man becomes aware of his responsibility to himself, and must act in a way consistent with his responsibility to the rest of humanity lest he fall into the chasm of immorality. You alone are responsible for your actions, and if you choose to be a wicked human you do so with the knowledge that bad juju will definitely be heading your way. 

 

*shudders*

 

Despair constitutes the last element of human suffering, which has been discussed quite extensively thus far. When you combine the anguish of responsibility with the knowledge that we are alone in the universe, despair is a pretty likely outcome. There is no escape from this overwhelming truth, and it is here that humanity splits in its interpretation of existentialism. There are those that truly despair over this knowledge and yet do nothing to alleviate their situation because they are afraid of taking complete responsibility for themselves. This leads to various forms of escapism, excuse-making, and so forth. The man who flees from his responsibilities is a coward, and makes for himself the life of a coward. 

On the other side of the spectrum are the people that embrace their responsibilities and take great care to make for themselves a life worth living. That is not to say they are exempt from suffering; no human is exempt from suffering. But these men bear their burdens with pride, with dignity, and live their lives with the knowledge that even though they occupy such a small amount of space in this universe, they are nonetheless important to the people in their lives. These are men that do not flee in fear of their responsibilities, but instead place the utmost importance to their decisions so as to further their own lot in life. These are men that do not see their actions as futile or pointless, and know within themselves that despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they do matter. There is merit yet in their existence because of their steadfast dedication to whatever cause inhabits their lives. In other words, purpose drives the existentialist--purpose that is entirely self-created and self-mediated. And purpose can literally be anything so long as it gives your life meaning and some degree of happiness: marriage, children, a prosperous career, money, etc. This is the antithesis to the existentialist despair, and this is how it can be combated. Find purpose within your life, and take up your responsibilities with dignity. 

Sartre concludes his eloquent defense of existentialism by saying that its aim is not to plunge man into abject despair, but rather to liberate and exonerate him by showing him the tools by which he can create meaning for himself in a world that is oftentimes tormented by chaos and turmoil. He says, "Existentialism is nothing else but an attempt to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position. Its intention is not in the least that of plunging men into despair...In this sense existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only by self-deception, by confining their own despair with ours that Christians can describe us as without hope". And with this I leave you, the reader, to ponder your own existence and decide for yourself whether you are the kind of person that makes excuses or takes responsibility for yourself. 

 

Sources: 

Sartre, Jean-Paul. "Existentialism is a Humanism". Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre, ed. Walter Kaufman, Meridian Publishing Company, 1989;

Wikipedia page on Existentialism: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism