Existentialism and the Irish Charater

The dichotomy in the character of the Irish peoples derives from an existentialistic worldview that recognizes the futility of fame and fortune, but strives after it anyway.

The Nature of Existentialism

A worldview is the basic framework by which people interpret and interact with the world around them. It is not empirical; rather, it is a philosophical construct, and as such neither right nor wrong. It is simply what people believe to be true, regardless of any empirical evidence. Though there are many different kinds of worldviews, the five mot important to Western Civilization began with Theism. This worldview assumes that God not only created the universe, but that He has taken an active role in its operation, and especially in the lives of people.

The major flaw with Theism, however, is the problem of evil, which is the question of why evil exists in a universe created by a benevolent god. This led to the development of Deism, which assumes that God is still the creator, but that He no longer takes an active role in the operation of the universe or the lives of people.

The problem with Deism, however, is that if God has removed Himself from his creation, is he really necessary? This line of thought led to Naturalism, which assumes that God is not necessary, and therefore can be ignored.

However, if God is unnecessary, then does life, the universe, or anything have any value, meaning, purpose, or worth? Nihilism assumes not. It further assumes that there is no objective morality, that human accomplishment is transitory, and that any endeavor is futile. At best, Nihilism assumes the universe is indifferent to Mankind; at worst, it is openly hostile to humanity. The problem with this view, however, is that, if existence has no purpose or meaning and is futile, and the universe doesn't care if we live or die and may even act against us, why bother to live at all? As such, any true Nihilist should commit suicide.

The fact that they tend not to suggests that they really do not believe existence is worthless and futile, or at least they somehow manage to discover or invent worth and meaning in their lives. Existentialism grew out the need to explain this tendency. Existentialism begins by accepting that life, the universe, and everything is without value, purpose, or worth, and that existence is futile. It then goes on to argue that, more than this, existence is actually Absurd. Absurdity goes beyond futility and meaninglessness by accepting that existence is also amoral, which is to say unfair. In other words, Absurdity is the opposite of karma. Karma assumes there are people who are intrinsically good or bad, such that the good are rewarded and the bad are punished. Absurdity assumes there are no intrinsically good or bad people, and that things just happen for no reason, so bad things are just as likely to happen to good people as bad. For the most part, our daily experiences appear to be karmic, yet this is just an illusion. Karma is not a necessary feature of existence and it is certainly not a property of existence. Anything can happen to anyone, so that at some point everyone has an experience that brings them face to face with the Absurd.

It is at this point, however, that Existentialism departs from Nihilism. Nihilism accepts the premise, implicit in all other worldviews before it, that meaning, purpose, and worth are intrinsic to existence, such that if they are absent they cannot be created by human endeavors. Similarly, Nihilism, and by implication the other worldviews as well, assumes that life, the universe, and everything are defined by predetermined essences, whether these are established by God or nature. In other words, the essence of a person precedes his existence, so that this essence determines what kind of person he will be, and establishes whatever meaning, purpose, and worth his life will have. Nihilism simply assumes that essence cannot convey any meaning, purpose, or worth to existence.

Existentialism, however, proposes that Existence precedes Essence; that is, the essence of a person is determined by his subjective actions and not some objective standard imposed upon him. In other words, people are defined by who they are, not what they are. A person is defined as a cruel man because he acts in a cruel manner, not because he is intrinsically cruel. Similarly, a person is defined as benevolent because he acts in a benevolent manner, not because he is intrinsically benevolent. The implication is that people have no intrinsic nature, that they can be whatever they choose to be by acting like it.

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