Name That Philosopher
This 19th century German philosopher declared “God is dead” and urged us to create our own values through the will to power
Who is Friedrich Nietzsche?
Nietzschean term for the main driving force for human beings to overcome obstacles and achieve self-mastery
What is the will to power?
Philosophical concept suggesting that every exact detail of our lives will infinitely repeat in the exact same way
What is the eternal recurrence?
According to Nietzsche, we have "killed" this divine being because we are relying less on him to direct our lives
What is "God"? ("God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.")
One possesses this inauthentic attitude when they deny their own freedom by denying any meaning of the world at all
What is a nihilist?
Known as the father of existentialism, this religious existentialist encouraged us to take a "leap of faith" in the face of uncertainty
Who is Soren Kierkegaard?
Kierkegaard believed only this can help us answer the most important questions in life
What is subjective truth?
According to Beauvoir, if we are just doing whatever we want without thinking about how our actions will affect others, we are restricting other's this
What is freedom?
Camus illustrates the similarities of our continuous search for meaning to this mythological figure's eternal punishment, but encourages us to "imagine him happy" and praise the mundanity of life
Who is Sisyphus? ("One must imagine Sisyphus happy")
A Nietzschean “superman” who instead of following the rules of others or society, embraces self-discovery and self over-coming
What is the Ubermensch?
20th century philosopher argued the world is so absurd that it would be a fool’s errand to find any meaning in it
Who is Albert Camus?
Kierkegaard described three stages of life: aesthetic, ethical, and this final stage where we develop our faith in a higher power and become our most authentic self
What is the religious stage?
Sartre says individuals are responsible for living in this freedom-denying form of self-deception, but Beauvoir suggests their oppressors are to blame for forcing them to think this is the only way to live
What is bad faith?
Sartre and Beauvoir believe that unlike an object's, a human's existence precedes their this, meaning humans are not born with a set purpose, but create it themselves
What is essence? ("Existence precedes essence")
According to Camus, this figure chooses to live in the face of absurdity
What is absurd hero?
French philosopher and writer who developed an "existential ethics" and encouraged us to pursue our freedom while also not interfering with other's freedom
Who is Simone de Beauvoir?
Kierkegaard argued we must take this in order to confront the absurd and devote ourselves to God without objective proof of God's existence
What is a leap of faith?
As opposed to embracing the eternal recurrence, this type of morality exhibits values of humility, submissiveness, and kindness, in order to be welcomed into the after life
What is slave morality?
According to Camus, this is the most fundamental question of philosophy
What is "Should I kill myself?"?
A freedom-denying infatuated woman obsessed with catering towards her husband instead of living the life she wants is the epitome of this inauthentic attitude described by Beauvoir
What is The Woman in Love?
French philosopher who claimed we are "condemned to be free" and we must ignore what the Other thinks in order to not live in bad faith
Who is Jean-Paul Sartre?
According to Camus, we should not ignore this but revolt against it
What is the absurd?
Turning to false sources of meaning that claim to know the universe’s purpose is one way to escape the absurd
What is philosophical suicide?
Sartre says it's not that people are terrible, but that we are too focused on getting their approval instead of living out our true desires
What is "Hell is other people"?
Sartre uses an example of this occupation to demonstrate how we should not let one social role define our entire existence
What is a waiter?