PSY 4130 Lecture 17: Humanism
5 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 17: Humanism
Existentialism — a philosophy founded by Danish clergyman Søren Kierkard places emphasis on the
underlying meaning of human existence and on our power to choose to define that meaning. This is
the concern with the meaning of human life, our freedom of choice, and the uniqueness of each
person.
• our personal and subjective interpretations of life and the choices we make in the context of those
interpretations are the most important aspects of life
• the most important and valid guides for the behaviour of each individual are our experiences and
feelings
Socrates: the unexamined life is not worth living. Forerunner of existentialism.
Kierkegaard and the Truth
• truth cannot be taught but must be experienced
• we cannot know God by logic, but only by experience
• there is a paradox between ultimate truth and the limitations of human understanding
• this paradox and limitation accounts for religious mysteries
The three states of personal freedom:
i. In the aesthetic stage, we see excitement and pleasure; we are headonist, but this approach
ultimately leaves us bored and unhappy.
ii. Ethical stage: our choices are guided bioethical principles that others have developed.
iii. Religious state: heights level of existence, in which we recognize our responsibility as human
individuals and develop a persona relationship with God.
Nietzsche: there are two components of human nature.
i. Rational side/Apollonian encompasses a desire for orderliness, tranquility, and predictability
ii. Irrational side/dionysian accounts for our penchant for and attraction to passionate experiences
and the chaos of creativity.
A conviction is a belief that one knows the trust and opinions are tentative (probability). Convictions,
not opinions, are cause of fanaticism.
Our most basic motive is the will to power which can be satisfied only if a human acts to satisfy all
instincts. This energies us and the will is the centre of our power to be stronger.
If we use this will to seek new experiences we can maser our selves and our destiny, moving beyond
good and evil and becoming supermen who are not governed by conventional mortality.
Binswager: application of phenomenology in psychiatry and he became an existential psychoanalyst.
Phenomenology is a method that focuses on the experience without breaking it down into its
component parts.
Umwelt — makes up our environment
Mitwelt — concerns our interactions with humans
Eigenwelt — concerns our inner selves with its private thoughts
Document Summary
Existentialism a philosophy founded by danish clergyman s ren kierkard places emphasis on the underlying meaning of human existence and on our power to choose to define that meaning. Socrates: the unexamined life is not worth living. Nietzsche: there are two components of human nature: rational side/apollonian encompasses a desire for orderliness, tranquility, and predictability, irrational side/dionysian accounts for our penchant for and attraction to passionate experiences and the chaos of creativity. A conviction is a belief that one knows the trust and opinions are tentative (probability). Our most basic motive is the will to power which can be satisfied only if a human acts to satisfy all instincts. This energies us and the will is the centre of our power to be stronger. If we use this will to seek new experiences we can maser our selves and our destiny, moving beyond good and evil and becoming supermen who are not governed by conventional mortality.
