"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself:
it is not in man that walks to direct his steps."
(Jer. 10: 23)
Today we hear a lot about people experiencing an "existential crisis." What most mean by that term is that some adversity or looming catastrophe is judged to be a threat to existence. But, philosophically, among the Existentialists, most people today do not use the term properly, for it involves far more than just being seriously and immediately threatened with death, and greater than experiencing a minor anxiety. This is not its complete meaning. So, just what is an "existential crisis"?
Existential Crisis
In "What Is an Existential Crisis?" (here) we have these good observations on the term.
"An existential crisis refers to feelings of unease about meaning, choice, and freedom in life. Whether referred to as an existential crisis, or existential anxiety, the main concerns are the same: that life is inherently pointless, that our existence has no meaning because there are limits or boundaries on it, and that we all must die someday."
The first decision that a human is faced with is this - do I live or die? Or, "to be or not to be"? Is life worth living? I know I can kill myself, so should I? Those who commit suicide believe that this world is not worth living in, that life is not worth the effort. If I choose to live, they surmise, it will likely be a life of pain and suffering, and I could save myself a lot of pain and suffering by just ending my existence. But, if I believe it is possible for life to be for me one of pleasure and freedom from pain, it may be worth it, on balance.
Some choose to live and sometime later in life say to themselves "maybe I should have killed myself." Many young people think about suicide at some point, especially if they are born in adverse circumstances, into a bad family, into poverty. Why should I live then, especially if I see little escape from such a cursed life? Who cares if I do? When these feelings are expressed to other young people, there are sadly some peers who actually encourage the depressed teen to commit suicide. The courts have dealt with this problem. Are kids who encourage a depressed peer to commit suicide guilty of a crime? Are they partners in murder? Is it at least immoral?
Existentialism & Suicide
The Existentialist cannot, with his philosophy about the meaninglessness of life, and nihilism, convince the suicidal individual not to kill himself by warning that his act of suicide will have ramifications in an afterlife, or with being judged by God, for God and the afterlife are presumed to be myth. They cannot give the suicidal any meaning to life, nor give good reasons for living, and cannot condemn suicide for ethical or moral reasons, because there is no universal and absolute moral code. The Existentialist may in fact agree with the suicidal and say "it may be the best thing for you." It is your free will right to do so, after all. It can also be seen as an act of courage and a way to say no to the world into which they were born.
Some Existentialists will retort by saying that they would attempt to assure the suicidal that he can create his own world and give it the meaning he wants, that he has the power to "will" himself into a better situation, and that this is why he should not commit suicide. But, all their reasoning with the suicidal mind must prove ineffectual and is a contradiction to the principles of Existentialism. In all cases they are trying to get the suicidal to believe there is reason for living, even though they cannot believe in it themselves. They will tell the suicidal that there is meaning to life and existence, but that it is only what you yourself give to it. That, however, proves to be ineffectual, I am sure, in convincing the suicidal that his justification for wanting to end existence is what, unreasonable? But, Existentialists often decry reason.
First, it requires the suicidal to believe in himself, that he can be successful in giving his life meaning and purpose. Second, it requires the suicidal to believe that there is indeed a better life. The Existentialist can offer no assurance or guarantee and so can offer little hope.
I do not see how the Existentialist can discourage the one contemplating suicide. What reason for living can the Existentialist offer? Very little, if any. The reason is that they know that suicide may be best, and is the right that the person has, for he has free will and there are no consequences in the afterlife. Many would actually encourage the suicidal person, thinking that the person may actually be doing the right thing. What can he tell the suicidal mind about his purpose and meaning in life? We see this same thinking in those who promote "euthanasia."
So, the first "existential crisis" that humans face is the fact of their mortality. Each person is gripped with the thought "I am going to die" at some point(s) in life. What decisions each person makes to that awful realization is the stuff of Existentialism. It is also the stuff of religion, and psychology too. Albert Camus, who is considered an Existentialist, though he denied being such, nevertheless attempted to deal with the problem of suicide within the Existentialist framework.
Camus opens “An Absurd Reasoning,” the first essay in his collection The Myth of Sisyphus, with these words:
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest — whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories — comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer.” (As cited here under "The Absurd Courage of Choosing to Live")
All the Existentialist can say to a suicidal individual is "life is not all bad." The pleasure you can get can exceed the pain life will bring. But, they cannot guarantee this, so the individual is left to go on hope or take a "leap of faith."
Said the same article:
"Camus writes that it is no more than wordplay to conclude that because life has no ultimate meaning it is not worth living. The lack of overall purpose or goal does not imply that there is no value to living."
In reading what the Existentialists say about suicide, I can say 1) they give no reason for living to the suicidal (though they think they do), and 2) they call for the suicidal to believe (and in this they go against what they say about faith and religion):
a) life is worth living (though he cannot guarantee it)
b) that deciding to live in spite of the absurdity of life gives meaning to life.
There is value in living? Where is the nihilism here? Again, this only shows the contradiction in Existential belief and practice.
Said the author further:
"While he explicitly sets himself against ‘existentialist philosophies’ (Camus 2000a, p. 35), Camus is commonly understood as belonging to the existentialist tradition..." (Ibid)
Said another writer on Camus and his thoughts on Suicide:
"Therefore, rather than seeking to understand suicide by attempting to determine which events are ‘an important causal factor’, Camus’s work suggests that the individual who has committed suicide has made a declarative judgement about the worth or the value of life, has undergone a ‘crisis’ in which the value of existence has been questioned and, in reaching the conclusion that it does not possess worth or value, has responded by committing suicide." ("Suicide: an existentialist reconceptualization" - pdf here - pg. 8)
This upholds my thesis that Existentialists really offer no hope to the suicidal and contradict themselves.
Said the same writer:
"Not every individual, however, will respond to the apparent
absurdity of existence by reaching the nihilistic conclusion that life possesses no value
or worth. Indeed, driven by what is referred to as the ‘nostalgia for unity’ or ‘appetite
for the absolute’ that is said to reflect ‘the essential impulse for the human drama’
(Camus 2000a, p. 23), many will adopt a great idea or grand narrative that satisfies the
desire for life to possess a meaning. As Camus (2000a) proposes, there are a variety
of grand narratives - religious, philosophical and political (p. 35, p. 189) - that purport
to disclose the supra-historical, transcendent and overarching explanation of the world
and provide the individual with a context in which to situate the meaning of their own
life. However, in accordance with the repeated suggestion that modernity is
characterized by a growing incredulity towards such overarching explanations or
grand, metanarratives (see, e.g. Nietzsche 1974, p. 279, Lyotard 1997, p. xxiv,
Vattimo 1999, p. 28, Deleuze & Guattari 2000, p. 308, Frankl 2004, p. 111, Roberts
2007, p. 277), Camus’s (2000a) work suggests that for many the acceptance of these
ostensible explanations will be unacceptable in so far as they necessitate ‘the leap’ to
believe, or maintain faith, in their validity (pp. 42-3). Rather than addressing the
absurd, rather than resolving the confrontation between the human desire to discern
life’s meaning and the apparent meaninglessness of life, Camus (2000a) makes it
clear that the leap of faith involved in accepting such supra-historical, overarching
explanations of the world is a way to ‘escape’ the absurd that, for some individuals,
demands an unacceptable ‘sacrifice of the intellect’ (p. 40)" (pg. 10)
Such is the confusion and contradiction that Existentialism entails. What the suicidal needs is a reason for living and the Existentialists say that belief in a transcendent metaphysical world, though a myth, though having to "sacrifice the intellect," is nevertheless the best means to convince the suicidal to choose to live!
The same article says:
"Existential anxiety tends to arise during transitions and reflects difficulty adapting, often related to losing safety and security. For example, a college student moving away from home or an adult going through a difficult divorce might feel as though the foundation on which their life was built is crumbling. This can lead to questioning the meaning of their existence."
How the bible counsels us regarding such anxieties is the only answer to them. It gives meaning to life and to its manifold and sundry difficulties.
The same article says:
"For existentialists, an existential crisis is considered a journey, an awareness, a necessary experience, and a complex phenomenon. It arises from an awareness of your own freedoms and how life will end for you one day."
The same article says:
"Existentialism emphasizes that we are all free to make choices in life, and with this freedom to make choices, comes responsibility. However, given the ultimate fate of death, your actions can appear meaningless when viewed in relation to the bigger picture of your life."
But, if there is no afterlife, and if eternal life and salvation are myths, then one can easily see how this produces angst, depression, anxiety, fear, dread, despair, hopelessness, anger, bitterness, hate, hardness of heart, and other psychological problems.
The apostle Paul spoke of how different is the Christian outlook on death for the believer versus that of the unbeliever, admonishing believers to "sorrow not as others which have no hope" (I Thess. 4: 13). There is both a qualitative and quantitative difference between the believer and the unbeliever in regard to how they view life, death, and the reason for life and existence. He also spoke as the writer of Hebrews how it is "through fear of death" that men "throughout their lifetime," are "in bondage." He says that Christ came to deliver from death, which includes the fear of it. (Heb. 2: 15) That fear is overcome by faith in the resurrection of Christ, in believing that he "is the resurrection and the life." (John 11: 25) This "fear of death," the "existential crisis" that is so much the topic in Existential literature, is the consequences of our being born under condemnation, with guilt being embedded in the conscience, with a sense of alienation from God and a better life.
The same article says:
"In this way, freedom can lead to despair, and the responsibility that comes with this freedom can cause anxiety. How often have you struggled with a decision and feared it was the wrong one? That fear of making the wrong choice reflects angst about freedom related to existential concerns."
Again, the fears that men experience are such as is common to fallen creatures who have lost their faith and confidence in God, and who have become aliens to him. Even believers have fears and anxieties, because they do not have perfect faith, because they yet still have a sinful nature, the source of doubt and unbelief, from which comes fear, anxiety, depression, etc. Everyone has anxiety when making hard choices. How the Christian is taught to handle anxiety is far different than how non Christian Existentialists do.
The same article says:
"Existentialists believe that we have this anxiety or angst because there is no "right" path and no guide to tell us what to do. In essence, each of us must make meaning in our own lives. If this responsibility feels too great, we may retreat into ways of behaving that shield us from this feeling of anxiety."
How troublesome to think of journeying through life without chart or compass! Without any sense of direction! With the belief that it matters not which path we go, that there are no wrong paths! It is failure to look to the Creator for guidance that has caused his human creatures all the ills they suffer.
The same article says:
"An existential crisis might move you toward authenticity, which may also bring anxiety. You might have thoughts about the fleetingness of your existence and how you are living it. When you stop taking for granted that you will wake up each day alive, you might experience anxiety, but at the same time deeper meaning."
"Deeper meaning"? Again, what contradiction! In Existentialist thought there is no "deeper meaning" to anything, not to life or existence.
The same article says:
"You might notice that all the day-to-day mundane problems that bothered you so much no longer seem to matter, and all the thoughts and fears and anxiety about the mundane fall away, because you are faced with a much bigger problem."
Something bigger than life's difficulties and adversities? What could that be in Existentialist thinking, seeing that there is no God, no afterlife, no eternal life, no heaven or hell?
The same article says:
"At the end of your life, will any of this matter? Will it matter what career you chose, how much money you had, or what car you drove?"
The bigger question has to do with one's explanation for his being, for his individual existence. Is there any meaning in it by design of a Creator? Once it is settled that the Creator has created you, you then can seek him and find the answers to the why of things and answer the age old philosophical question - "who am I?" And, "why am I here?"
The same article says:
"Given that existential anxiety is related to an awareness of the ultimate boundaries in life, which are death and chance, anxiety of this type can be seen as unavoidable rather than pathological. Because of this, each of us must find a way to "live with" this anxiety rather than eliminate it—or so existentialists argue."
The only way to "live with" the hardships of life, and with the distresses of the mind about pain, suffering, death, and extinction, is to find it in God and his word. Any other way will not bring peace, joy, or salvation.
In "Christ and the Existential Imagination" by CALVIN MILLER (here) we have these good words:
"In every generation Christologists have sought to keep the Christ of the Gospels from being displaced by philosophically generated substitutes. One such alien Christ has arisen out of existentialist fiction, in a form that the four Evangelists would not have recognized. Since the vastly influential symbolism of the existential imagination is “anti-Christ,” Christian apologetics must offer a persuasive refutation. Let us seek to counter that existential symbolism by using three of its favorite terms: freedom, being, and reason."
As stated in previous posts, Nietzche not only titled one of his works "The Antichrist," he actually promoted an anti God and anti Christ thinking.
Miller also says:
"The disturbing thing about one prominent existentialist view of the freedom of man is its insistence that freedom can be realized only in the “death of God.”"
But, that "freedom" is not freedom but bondage. It reminds us of the words of the apostle Peter who said "while they promise them liberty, they themselves are the slaves of corruption." (II Peter 2: 19) This is a case of calling good evil, and evil good, of calling darkness light, and light darkness, of calling what is bitter sweet and what is sweet bitter. (Isa. 5: 20) True freedom and salvation comes from realizing that God is real, that he is "the true and living God," and that he is "a rewarder of them who diligently seek him." (Heb. 11: 6)
Miller also says:
"But in philosophy since Nietzsche, the death of God has been considered a valid philosophical position and, oddly enough, one whose acceptance grants man freedom. Thomas Altizer may not have spoken for very many theologians but he did speak for a host of existentialists when he wrote: “Yet the ‘good news’ of the death of God can liberate us from our dread of an alien beyond” (The Gospel of Christian Atheism, p. 145)."
What a lie of the devil! What a delusion!
Miller also says:
"The creators of existentialist fiction have tended to see man as free only when he is free from the necessity of God."
That was Satan's mindset. But, about that we will have more to say in a separate post.
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