The Existential Lexicon

[Guest]

Absurdism - The belief nothing can explain or rationalize human existence. There is no answer to "Why am I?" Human beings exist in a meaningless, irrational universe and that any search for order by them will bring them into direct conflict with this universe.

 

Agnosticism - The uncertain beliefs of many existentialists, agnostics claim one cannot prove or disprove the existence of a deity. Existential agnostics tend to claim they do not care if there is or is not a supreme deity.

 

Anarchy - Absence of any form of political authority. Most existentialists consider all individuals equal politically. Notice political equality is not equated with any other form of measure. Inequities are inevitable, but existentialists believe politics should not produce these differences. Anarchy is not chaos, but the result of social evolution.

 

Amoral - To reject the ethical system of a community; to develop an independent ethical system. Do not confuse "amoral" in existentialism for "without morality." Much like anarchy, the concept is misunderstood and misapplied to existentialists.

 

Atheism - Possessing no belief in an omnipotent deity, or finding no need to ponder the existence of a deity. For some, atheism implies the denial a deity exists, as opposed to non-belief. Existential atheism is an active debate, not to be confused with agnosticism.

 

Authentic - To be true. If something is "authentic" it is exactly as named or described. According to some thinkers, nothing is authentic. Because people evolve and alter their essence, people cannot be authentic for more than an instant, frozen in time.

 

Bad Faith - A lie, especially to the self. The extreme example cited by existentialists is, "I was only following orders." Any denial of free will is an example of bad faith.

 

Dialectic - Process associated with Hegel of discovering truth by stating a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coherent synthesis. The Marxian process of change through the conflict of opposing forces, whereby a given contradiction is characterized by a primary and a secondary aspect, the secondary succumbing to the primary, which is then transformed into an aspect of a new contradiction.

 

Epistemology - A branch of philosophy dedicated to scientific studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity.

 

Epoché - The act of suspending interpretation and judgment in order to better study the actual structure and content of an object or phenomena. A term from phenomenology.

 

Essence - The intrinsic or indispensable properties that serve to characterize or identify something. The inherent, unchanging nature of a thing or class of things. Phenomenology and existentialism aim to observe the essence of objects. In existentialism, one's essence is his or her role in the universe. This essence changes constantly with each decision made.

 

Ethics - In existential works, "ethics" generally refers to a system, a formalized method for determining "right" and "wrong" in any situation. "Morals" are practices dictated by probability, producing a conformity of behavior among a community.

 

Existentialism - The doctrine that among sentient beings, especially humanity, existence takes precedence over essence and holding that man is totally free and responsible for his acts. This responsibility is the source of dread and anguish that encompass mankind.

 

Existence - The state of being, usually in the material, scientific sense. In existentialism, the existence of a person does not define the individual; the individual is defined by his or her actions and thoughts.

 

Freedom - The condition leading to both human accomplishment and anguish.

 

Morality - Doing as the powerful in a society or social system dictate. If one believes in a deity, that deity is the most powerful entity in existence, so its rules must be followed in order to be moral.

 

Necessary Being - The rationalistic explanation of a deity; a being that cannot not exist due to the paradox created. Many existentialists have faith, therefore they believe in a being or intellect preceding all other existence.

 

Nihilism - Often viewed as "amoral" by some, nihilism is amoral in the existential sense. Nihilism is the rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief. Politically, nihilism is the belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement.

 

Ontology - The theory of existence; the idea there is a reality.

 

Phenomenology - A movement originated by Edmund Husserl, meaning the study of appearances. The study of all possible appearances in human experience, during which considerations of objective reality and of purely subjective response are left out of account. It should be noted Hegel published essays on phenomenology, but Husserl organized a formalized system recognized as the "phenomenological method" of philosophical study.

 

Positivism - The philosophy contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought. Phenomenology, epistemology, and other schools of thought reflect some positivistic influences.

 

Praxis - An action, as defined by Karl Marx, leading to a definitive chain of events. Existentialists view every decision as a "defining moment" but a praxis represents a revolution in the essence of an individual or community.

 

Rationalism - The theory all events are logically linked.

http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/elexicon.html

 

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited January 26, 2001).]

[Guest]

MJ, thanks for the info!

[Guest]

My pleasure, BTac.

 

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Theatre of the Absured

Well, this should be an interesting article, because you (the readers) and I (the "fortunate" writer) will both be learning something new. Isn't there something inherently absurd about writing about things you don't understand? Now I know about Theatre of the Absurd. I know about some of its writers. I even like some of the writers. Yet, what I know about Theatre of the Absurd is that pretentious kind of knowledge, you know, like being at a party surrounded by theatre-goers and nodding that "Yes, I am agreeing but I don't have the faintest idea what it means!" nod. So, this month we will end the pretense and discover more about this style of theatre.

 

The first place to begin is to define the term Theatre of the Absurd. What does the word absurd mean and what does it imply as a theatre style? Looking in my trusty old Merriam-Webster Dictionary I found the following definition:

 

absurd´ (²bsurd´), adj. [F. absurde, fr. L. absurdus harsh-sounding, absurd.]

Contrary to reason; obviously inconsistent with truth, opinions generally held, or common sense; ridiculously incongruous. Syn. Foolish, silly, preposterous.

 

From the definition it can be assumed that Theatre of the Absurd will not follow the conventional notions of plays. Absurdist plays should run contrary to the normal patterns, cross the grainlines of a traditional theatre experience. In his book The Theatre of the Absurd, Martin Esslin defined the style as:

 

'Absurd' originally means 'out of harmony', in a musical context. Hence its dictionary definition: 'out of harmony with reason or propriety; incongruous, illogical'. In common usage, 'absurd' may simply mean 'ridiculous', but this is not the sense in which Camus uses the word, and in which it is used when we speak of Theatre of the Absurd . . . Ionesco defined his understanding of the term as follows: 'Absurd is that which is devoid of purpose . . . Cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless.' (5)

 

...........

 

Others writers of the absurd include Arthur Adamov, son of a wealthy Armenian oil-well proprietor who moved his family to France when Adamov was four. His plays include La Parodie, about two men infatuated with the same girl, Lili, who is not bright; L'Invasion, deals with the order and disorder of society and families; La Grande et la Petite Manæuvre, which reveals that efforts to eliminate political terrorism are in vain since all political power gains strength in the use of brute force; and Le Professeur Taranne, the story of a scholar accused of indecent exposure who protests his innocence in the face of mounting proof.

 

http://www.1501broadway.com/tresamp/treplay.htm