Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

9.7 Authenticity: Existentialist Ethics The three major moral theories that we have discussed thus far include virtue ethics, deontology, and utilitarianism, with each having a different focus in defining and evaluating moral values. Virtue ethics is where moral value is determined by cultivating a virtuous character. Deontology is where moral value is determined by following the moral rules (maxims) prescribed by reason. Utilitarianism is where moral value is determined by the consequences of actions; the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. In contrast to these traditional ethical theories, the eclectic theory of existentialism takes a much more personal and individual approach to the challenge of making ethical choices. E xistentialism is a philosophical and literary movement that focuses on the uniqueness of each human individual as distinguished from abstract universals qualities defined as existence precedes essence, which means that humans create themselves through free choices and are responsible for who they are. 9.8 Soren Kierkegaard Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who argues that life has meaning only when people reject the pursuit of pleasure and seek moral truth by looking within and recognizing their connection to the divine. He believed that we need to cultivate our souls, committing ourselves passionately to the quest of truth and personal authenticity, and that we need to fully recognize and accept our personal responsibility in creating ourselves through the choices we make. He believed that we need to invest our lives with meaning through our efforts, fulfilling our unique potential through the power of our minds and the talents of our spirits making up the core values of the existentialist ethic. The opposite of this view is to succumb to the social forces of conformity, permitting the expectations of others to seep into our consciousness, causing us to become weak and insignificant. Kierkegaard explains the false view that the crowd is the ultimate reality to which we should bend our wills, sacrifice our individuality and become absorbed. In Kierkegaard’s writing entitled On the Dedications to That Single Individual , he discusses the concept of the crowd as a state of unconsciousness for the individual, not necessarily corresponding to a particular group of people. It is the automatic inclination to view yourself and your life only in terms of others: a family member, an employee, a member of a religion, and so on. When you view yourself only as a member of a social group, you implicitly deny your unique human distinctness. In doing so, you surrender your autonomy, permitting the crowd to make decisions for you, enabling you to temporarily escape from your personal responsibility for your choices. Kierkegaard believes that surrendering ourselves to the crowd is inauthentic and the height of immorality. Moral action begins with respecting what it means to be human and concludes with acting on the truth everyone can be the one. The crowd is always vulnerable to the untruths because they play on people’s emotions and appeal to their innate desires. Kierkegaard believed that there is hope every time a person insists on being a single individual which is the ethical ideal to which every person should aspire. The dehumanizing domination of the crowd in which people look outward to political and religious leaders, as well as popular culture to tell them who to be, reflects what he calls the abstract principle of leveling. The abstract principle of leveling involves the annihilation of individuality, where people are reduced to abstractions, labels, and categories defined by age, race, marital status, career, socioeconomic status, nationality, educational

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