Looking at the world, thinking, living existentially - is this really a special lifestyle, or another dust in the eyes of an insufficiently educated layman?
Any first-year student will tell you that existentialism is a rather young (about a hundred years old) philosophical direction, developed first in Germany, then in France, Russia. Over time, it conquered the whole world.
This term in Latin means "existence". The main idea of the doctrine: a person himself predetermines the meaning of his essence, having already been born. Living, making mistakes and exploits, every day he creates himself through a choice. Therefore, the categories of freedom assign a huge role, considering it as a combination of opportunity and responsibility at the same time. At the same time, a person who thinks existentially is a traveler who is constantly in search of himself, his meaning of life, constantly understanding his daily changing nature.
Coming out of the philosophical cradle, the new trend has won followers in other areas of public life. FirstFirst of all, this applies to pedagogy and psychology. The existential approach in psychology treats any human problem as unique and unrepeatable, avoiding the use of classifications and patterns. The main goal is to help comprehend reality and develop one's attitude towards it, since living existentially means being free from other people's assessments and opinions, condemnations and approvals.
A new direction has been developed in pedagogy. This was expressed in the allocation of basic knowledge that everyone should have. Among all the sciences, the most important, existentially derived, is the science of knowing oneself and charting a positive path of development and self-improvement. At the same time, education should help in solving the essential problems of a person, which include issues of life and death, freedom and choice, responsibility, communication and loneliness. Inattention to these problems can lead a person to an existence crisis, which is associated with deviant and delinquent behavior, psychological disorders and even suicidal tendencies. In this regard, a new, existential education strategy is being built, in the center of which is a person and his problems.
Thus, existentialism is a concept that has already gone beyond the scope of philosophy and fills various spheres of society. Therefore, its use in various everyday situations is quite justified. It becomes clear that an existential person is distinguished by the following qualities: he is in search of the essence of his life, its meaning and purpose; lays responsibilitynot only for personal choice, but also for loved ones; understands that people are interconnected and influence each other; ready to meet Nothing, that is, death - this meeting will free him from the fetters of public opinion and social conventions. Probably, a modern, existentially thinking person is different from the heroes of Sartre or Camus, but nevertheless, an appeal to their works will help to fill the philosophical term with new shades, giving it vitality.
