Metaphysicians
The intellectual powers behind existentialism concentrated their writings and lectures upon the metaphysical. These men wondered if there was a Creator. If so, what is mankind’s relation to that creator? Are the laws of nature set, with mankind forced to adhere to those laws? These men were so dedicated to thought that they were generally asocial, while caring a great deal about mankind.
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger are the primary intellectual and metaphysical existentialists. Reference works indicate that Nietzsche (1844-1900) was not a reader of Kierkegaard’s essays (1813-1855), but they both pursued the same general question: What, short of a fear of a Creator, limits the actions of an individual? Kierkegaard approached the problem from the possibility that Christianity, and faith in general, is irrational. Kierkegaard argued that proving the existence of a single, supreme entity was not a useful pursuit. Instead, Kierkegaard believed, the important test of a man was his commitment to faith despite the absurdity of that faith.
Nietzsche, often characterized as an atheist, was more precisely a critic of organized religion and the doctrines of his time. He believed that organized religion, especially the powerful Catholic church, was opposed to anyone gaining power or self-reliance without consent. Nietzsche used the phrase herd to describe the populous, which followed the churches willingly. Nietzsche argued that proving the existence of a Creator was neither possible nor important. However, while Kierkegaard considered devotion in the absence of proof courageous, Nietzsche considered the pursuit of personal excellence a sign of courage. Nietzsche’s philosophy can be compared to Milton’s Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Lucifer said, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
Some twentieth-century theologians have debated these differing views of man's relationship with the Creator. The writers addressing this issue include John Barth, Karl Barth, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich. This group is referred to as the religious or theological existentialists. Tillich was one of the most influential members of this group. Because he emigrated to the United States after opposing the National Socialists in Germany, Tillich was embraced by the American intellectual community.
Politicians
It might be a bit unfair to call the French Existentialists politicians, but they were politically active and often politically motivated. France was the center of political existentialism, as noted in the included history. German philosophers, until World War II, were isolated from daily political struggles. Even during the two world wars, the German philosophers could only imagine the horrors of concentration camps. The French Resistance, meanwhile, was the refuge of some of France’s leading thinkers.
Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, recognized as the two most influential 20th-century existential writers, were both active in the French Resistance. Camus had been politically active in his native Algeria. Camus had been born into poverty. As a result, he was drawn into socialist groups while attending college. Sartre, in comparison, was more political after World War II. His family’s prominent social standing had isolated him from most political matters. The war galvanized these two men into activists. Sartre became a leading defender of the Soviet Union, while Camus promoted what he called “humanistic socialism” or socialism with compassion.
European texts as well as the writings of Marx and Lenin help clarify communism and socialism as understood by the political existentialists. The writings of Camus, Sartre, and other existentialists who claimed to be either Communist Party supporters or socialists add to this understanding.
Marx and Existentialism
The American public has been taught that the “real” definition of communism is communal living. This is not the case in most writings. In 1847, Marx explained to the Communist League of London that a strong central power was needed to manage the production and distribution of goods for the benefit of all. Marx abandoned the Engels’ idea that utopia was all working for each other, with no central structure.
Marx stated that a dictatorship was a step toward the “classless” society, stating in 1852 that “class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat.” Remember that Marx’s famous quote, from about 1880, is “I am not a Marxist,” referring to the misinterpretation of his writings.
Marx would have, in fact, considered the Soviet Union a Marxist nation, in that he defined Marxism in his letters as a belief that a few men can and should decide issues for the masses, freeing them from the problems of capitalism. In other words, Marx thought it honorable that some men would sacrifice their freedom to worry about the business of production, leaving the masses equal and free to pursue their interests. Marx was asked what these men would do if everyone wanted to go fishing when the society needed wheat. His answer was to state that Marxism was not freedom to do anything, but freedom from things, such as worries about money, food, and shelter.
In other words, sacrifice your freedom to do things in favor of a freedom from things. That is, in its simplest form, the promise that Marx, not necessarily Engels, saw in a single-party, dictatorial government. His biggest concerns were the basics of life. This makes sense, as he saw that European culture was very exclusive, with the poor always worrying about basic needs. Communism has come to mean Marxism, which his own writings indicate was not a utopian society in which men were free to do as they wanted. Only his early writings were so idealistic as to dream of worker-owners. By the 1850s, Marx was an authoritarian. Lenin and Stalin took these later writings to justify killing “enemies of the state.”
Camus and Sartre, both originally supporters of Marxist ideas, used their fame as writers of fiction to promote their ideals. The metaphysicians would not have considered such self-promotion. Camus accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, considering it a tool to argue for human rights. Curiously, Sartre, who loved to be the center of attention, refused to accept the award in 1964. His public refusal probably attracted more attention for him.
Public perception of existentialism was furthered (and tainted) by the political existentialists. For many Americans, the existentialists are Sartre and Camus, with Nietzsche symbolizing an even darker image.
