O O,
No one said that Sartre coined the word "existentialism." But he did coin the phrase "existentialism precedes essence." You seem to have admitted this much in your claim that he reversed the Platonic dogma.
Well, brother. You are right about Alexander Pope. Let's drink to him. Cheers.
Chielozona
Chielozona Eze
Professor, African Literature and Cultural Studies, Northeastern Illinois University; Extraordinary Professor, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.Fellow - Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, South Africa
https://neiu.academia.edu/ChielozonaEze
www.Chielozona.comhttps://neiu.academia.edu/ChielozonaEze
On Mon, Jan 28, 2019 at 6:02 PM 'O O' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
J-P Sartre did not coin the term "existentialism" but he popularized it in his 1946 public address "L'existentialisme est un humanisme," where he defined the term by merely reversing the Platonic dogma that "essence precedes existence"; this error-full and philosophically weak defense of existentialism as a humanism arguably became his most popular single essay, especially in the USA, and "Letter on Humanism" was Heidegger's indirect response to Sartre's dogma. Furthermore, don't confuse (Sartrean) existentialism (an "essentialism" itself) with the generic or multiple "philosophy" of existence (which has been around for thousands of years in different cultures of the world, as opposed to "existentialism," a 20thC phenomenon, which has led to a retroactive labeling of many previous reflections on existence as "existentialism."--
Remember Alexander Pope: Drink deep or not at all.If we are looking for the history of the expression "existence precedes essence," we need, of course, to admit that the idea had been in existence in the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard. It is, however, Jean-Paul Sartre, who coined and gave it a profound philosophical grounding. This much is clear from his essay, "Existentialism is Humanism." It is actually correct to claim, as Biko has, that "existentialism is the European belief that existence comes before essence" For a short essay like his, it is not necessary to trace a long history of the term he is using. One can comfortably rely on the philosophy of either Sartre or Camus to situate that argument. Indeed, neither of these two philosophers believes in essence. So, they would argue that not only does existence precede essence, there is, indeed, no essence. There is existence. Period. Gabriel Marcel is often called a Christian existentialist because he admits of some form of essence: God. In response to Sartre's denial of God and hope (see his play No Exit), Marcel argues for exactly the opposite. There is God. There is hope. Humans are not hell to other humans.
So, dear O O, you are right that Biko knows how to pontificate. This time around, you seem to have out-pontificated him in your summary dismissal of his reliance on the well-known expression in existentialism.
--On Mon, Jan 28, 2019 at 12:01 PM 'O O' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:I thought that the double error (logical and historical) implicit in O B's unqualified characterization "Existentialism is the European belief that existence comes before essence") was apparent. Even Gabriel Marcel who coined the term and applied it initially to a particular European who popularized it did not use it dogmatically. All I am saying to O B: Please beware/be aware of the = sign when pontificating.--to simplify this, nowadays no one believes in essence. "essentialism" is a criticism on student term papers, meaning we are supposed innately determined rather than constructed; constructionism is the dominant belief nowadays.
ken
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
517 803-8839
From: 'Adeshina Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2019 3:38:32 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari on Existentialism--Dear OO,Your response to Oga Biko's characterization of existentialism is a rejection without an explanation. You seem to think that summarizing existentialism as "existence preceding essence" is misleading and accurate. And then you clammed up. What then is an accurate description?
Yes, existentialism differs from Kierkegaard and Heidegger to Sartre and Camus to Merleau Ponty. Agozino betrays this unawareness a bit with his reference to an absurd world, which is basic to Camus rather than Sartre or Heidegger. But then, all existentialists take existence as more fundamental than essence. Why is that inaccurate? What perspective are you coming from sir?
Adeshina Afolayan, PhD
Department of Philosophy
University of Ibadan
+23480-3928-8429
--On Sunday, January 27, 2019, 2:10:29 AM GMT+1, 'O O' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
"Existentialism is the European belief that existence comes before essence": A statement so misleading, so inaccurate.
On Jan 26, 2019, at 12:52 PM, 'Biko Agozino' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
--This may interest some:
BUHARI ON EXISTENTIALISM
By Biko Agozino In rationalizing his suspension of the Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, Presiden...
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