Yesterday I passed out, without having drunk any alcohol; it was psychologically interesting. One moment, opening the door and feeling queasy, next moment coming to on the floor with no idea where I am.. made me think about what i'm doing right now
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I always assumed that existentialism was about realising that all of your actions have consequences and you are responsible for them. With that enlightenment, you have absolute freedom to do whatever you want. Self-destruction might be the most extreme expression of absolute freedom, but it's not the pinnacle of existentialism.
Here's a thought: The lemming by its own nature lives for self-destruction, yet by its self-destruction, it preserves the survival of its species.
There is a saying that 'With great freedom comes great responsibility.' I feel that Camus and Sartre's differing strains of exitensialism both support that idea- it's just a matter of whether you care about the responsibility and consequences- as caring is entirely up to your choice. That being said, willing oneself to death is quite a purposeless feat. I find the most interesting part of existentialism is what mode of belief it leads to, as it seems, to me at least, to only be a stop on the way. A fairly final stop, wherein you realise that only your decisions matter to your actions which affect your life.
But then again I've only really gone into depth with Sartre's Existentialism as a Humanism.
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"Writing is purpose, purpose freedom."
my little asode there was a meant only as a notation that writing so wonderfully and essentially as you do in a public forum denies (properly) the depths of eX, and glorifies by the light of the Word in darkness both the path you are walking and, if you are looking for an ism, pure journalism. The word is your Hegelian Other, and in its reflection (as you can tell by how people comment and reflect on your posts) your words are become higher than simple responsibility.
paradox is the only reality; contradiction the only truth: if i see an ism i challenge it. Sorry if it gets annoying.
...and the all the lemmings committing suicide thing is only a slight myth-derivation of the reality. Not all of them die.
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More specifically, he has some awesome ideas, but is a theorist; he makes intricate theories about things which should never be pinned down in any way.
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my copy of the stranger had a drawing in black ink of a shadow on looming approach to the foreground, with a caption that read: "the duck man cometh." Even though i knew what i was reading, the whole time i kept expecting the duckman. It really made it a much better piece.
based on your last sentence, i'm also going to STRONGLY reccomend THE THIRD POLICEMAN by Flann O'brien. Just remember: try not to read the preface
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And yes Sartre is a theorist. And yes he does talk a lot about things that shouldn't be pinned down. But from what I can tell, he writes less bullshit than 90% of the people I know.
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and yes, sarte does Speak The Truth, but like i said he does it best and most concisely and with as little bitching as possible in the stranger. Sarte, as you put it, writes less bullshit because his concerns are specific, and his medium very tangible. Now, if it weren't for all the bitching...
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Honestly though, I still feel like it could be done better than Wheadon does it, maybe that's why I feel the desire to do what i'm trying to do.
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