HW # 3 Blog Post #2 (existentialism)

I am not a religous person. Even though I have been taken to church a few times and I was born on December 25th, I have to admit that the only times I think about saying something to God is when I am in trouble: "Please God don't let that kid score on us." Satre's existentialist idea that there is not a god who has given us our human nature that is as Banach says, " a pre-conceived idea of what we were to be and what we were to be good for" is not at all depressing to me. It is a good thing.

The fact is that when I think about human nature I think about how we use the expression "It's just human nature" as an excuse. For example, we think that it is human nature to be greedy and out for ourselves, to make fun of others because we are insecure, and to take all the credit to satisfy our sad egos. But when Barack Obama gives a really inspiring speech, we don't say "That's human nature. " We think what an unusually gifted individual he is. To me, this individualism is part of what Sarte is getting at. When people do extraordinary things that help the world or even set any kind of personal goal and reach it, they are taking responsibility for their own acts. I think this might be what Banach is saying when he is describing existentialism as "honoring the responsibility we have to create our own nature and values."

On the other hand, when we humans don't take positive actions to improve our lives, we blame human nature, this force outside ourselves. When Banach talks about common excuses we all use for not making an effort like "I can't pass this course, I just don't have the brain for calculous," I think he is saying that the existentialist view about a statement like this would be that you aren't exercising the freedom you have to change your life. If you believe that you were just born a certain way and that other people were born a certain way and are stronger than you are, you might think that you could never challenge them even if they are wrong.

This idea of creating our own essence which I guess is about our values and the way we would like ourselves to be makes me think about why Sartre came up with his existentialist views. I know that he fought against the Nazis in WWII. He would think that people who hid Jewish people so they wouldn't be taken to concentration camps were heros in an existentialist way. It would be easier not to hide them and just say to yourself, "Who am I to challenge Hitler?". In fact, it would be more like human nature to want to protect yourself and your own family. Deciding to save someone else and risk your own life would mean that you don't feel powerless because of outside forces. You would be creating your own values not acting like a sheep.