There is, in the fifth place, the therapeutic value of existential analysis that permits, on the one hand, the liberating of human existence from the beguilements or debasements to which it is subject in daily life and, on the other, the directing of human existence toward its authenticity—i.e., toward a relationship that is well-grounded on itself, and with other humans, with the world, and with God. The absurdity of human existence then seems to lie in the fact that in becoming myself (a free existence) I must be what I am not (a thing). Author of. These philosophers expounded certain existential tenets which according to Lescoe (9) are geared towards “analyzing the basic structures of human existence and to call individuals to an awareness of their existence in its essential freedom”. Human existence may be simpler than we thought. It helps man to realize his purpose of existence thereby fashioning his own life through realization and reflection on himself by excluding himself from the crowd. Thus, there is no God and no purpose assigned to us by God. Thereby justifying the rationale behind this research bearing in mind it impact in awakening the contemporary man to the reality of himself as an existing being. Does man have absolute freedom to make choices? The Meaning of Human Existence. They focus, first, on the problematic character of the human situation, through which the individual is continually confronted with diverse possibilities or alternatives, among which he may choose and on the basis of which he can project his life. According to R. C. Solomon, existentialism “is the explicit conceptual manifestation of an existential attitude–a spirit of ‘the present age’. But facts about our physical location within or size in comparison to the universe or the number of species there are is not relevant to our significance. Philosophy of Hegelianism, according to Copleston (335) misrepresented human existence such “ that man realizes his true self or essence in proportion as he transcends his particularity and becomes a spectator of all time and existence as a moment in the life of universal thought”. Perhaps we weren't formed from the dust by a personal being, but by blind forces. The various forms of existentialism may also be distinguished on the basis of language, which is an indication of the cultural traditions to which they belong and which often explains the differences in terminology among various authors. The linguistic differences, however, are not decisive for a determination of philosophical affinities. What Fires means have in that, the question regarding the Corkinty of object of knowledge can be approached by investigating the nature, laws and scope of knowledge. Not only that, try as we may we cannot control our ultimate destiny. Existentialism, any of various philosophies, most influential in continental Europe from about 1930 to the mid-20th century, that have in common an interpretation of human existence in the world that stresses its concreteness and its problematic character. Starting from such bases, existentialism can take diverse and contrasting directions. However, there is the other group of existentialists who discussed human existence as a worthwhile venture. Hope and wish for otherwise as we will, there is no evidence of an external grace shining down upon us, no demonstrable destiny or purpose assigned to us, no second life vouchsafed us for the end of the present one (173). We are alone in the universe. It is therefore in a bid to clarify some of these mind-bogging issues that the researcher is out to expose what Kierkegaard considers to be the gauge or the standard of meaningful human existence. It is a major tragedy of human existence that many people goes through life failing to express their individual potentialities to an appreciable extent. etc. Examples of human rights are the right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to education. On his own, Immanuel Herman Fichte, son of the famous idealist emphasized the individual human personality. In fact, the claim that God exists and has a purpose for our lives is clearly consistent with the claim that evolution is true. It seems, then, for Wilson, that we are just alone. In Omorveghs (39) words, this is a loose system of philosophy that deals “win, concrete existence as opposed essence”. Ordinarily, Kierkegaard posits that philosophy should concern itself not merely with abstract theories rather with questions such that confront individuals as existing beings. Therefore, man must be at its best to be able to exercise such responsibility. ; and philosophy could hardly have given a clearer demonstration of the power of this oblivion of Being than it has furnished us by the somnambulistic assurance with which it has passed by the real and only question of B.&T. Such include the chief founder of contemporary existentialism in the person of Soren Kierkegaard. ), we must examine our evolutionary origins. So while we may be free from a creator, we are trapped by our biology. Fries opinion was that philosophical trend ought to have continued in the Kantian tradition. Thus, the significance of this work can be outline as follows: In order to give this work its required philosophical grounding, the researcher made wide consultation of research materials on Kierkegaard. On his part, G. O. Ozumba sees existentialism as “the philosophy of human existence…concerned with the individual in the uniqueness of his existence. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote. The outcome of that effort is manifested in the acquisition of deep knowledge of existentialists’ concept of human existence. The human person who is formerly and presently the inquiring subject, become simultaneously the inquired object. By and large, existentialists approach where to discover the meaning and authenticity of …… existence. Third, human existence as action is doomed to always destroy itself. It is his relationship to this that categorizes him either as authentic or inauthentic individual. Kierkegaard proposed three stages on life would benefits contemporary man to come to the actualization of his essence with the understanding that to exist is to be an individual who strives, who considers alternatives, who chooses, who decides and who makes a commitment more importantly, for ensuring existential commitment, worthy of making the individual sound, critical focused, brave, courageous and analytical minded in making decisions for his very life. Second, it is opposed to any doctrine that sees in human beings some given and complete reality that must be resolved into its elements in order to be known or contemplated. Its use and abuse makes and mars man respectively. It therefore renounces reason, universality, abstraction and objectivity in favour of privacy, particularity, randomness and subjectivity” (87-88). But this is a good thing, for Wilson, because it means that we are free - free to choose our destiny and rule our lives. Soren Kierkegaard, the father of contemporary existentialism. In this point, Fries shares affinity with the attitude of the father of British empiricism, John Locke. Most of such people are atheists like Martin Heidegger, with Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre who played down very much, the essence of human existence as Hegel also did. For example, Marcel and Sartre were farther apart than Heidegger and Sartre; and there was greater affinity between Abbagnano and Merleau-Ponty than between Merleau-Ponty and Marcel. The meaning of our personal lives, then, is not found in the intentions of a benevolent creator, but in facts about our evolutionary development and what we make of our future.