Existentialism and Choice
When a student decides to drop a core class to pursue a risky art career, they face the weight of total personal freedom. This moment of decision captures the essence of human life, where every path taken excludes a thousand other potential versions of the self. We are not born with a set purpose, but rather we arrive in the world as blank slates waiting for the ink of our choices. This reality forces us to confront the silence of the universe, which offers no pre-written scripts for our daily actions.
The Burden of Absolute Freedom
Because we possess the power to define our own values, we bear the full weight of responsibility for our outcomes. This concept of existentialism suggests that existence precedes essence, meaning we show up first and define our nature through deeds later. Think of this process like an artist standing before a blank canvas without any instructions or a sketch to guide the brush. The artist must choose every color and line, knowing that the final image will reflect their own unique vision. If the painting looks messy or fails to convey meaning, the artist cannot blame the canvas or the paint. They must accept that their choices created the result, and this realization often brings a sense of deep anxiety or dread.
Key term: Existentialism — the philosophical belief that individuals create their own meaning through free will and personal responsibility.
People often try to escape this pressure by following social norms or pretending that they have no other options. They might say that their job, their family, or their culture forced them into a specific role. However, an existentialist would argue that even choosing to conform is a choice that the person makes for themselves. By pretending we are not free, we act in bad faith, which means we lie to ourselves about our true capacity to change our direction. We create a false cage around our lives to avoid the discomfort of owning our decisions.
Navigating Choices and Consequences
When we recognize that our choices are ours alone, we can start to live with more purpose and intention. This does not mean that every choice is easy, but it means that we stop looking for external excuses for our current situation. We must evaluate our paths based on the values we choose to uphold rather than the expectations of others. The following table outlines how different ways of approaching a life choice can lead to very different outcomes for the individual:
| Approach | Focus | Resulting Feeling |
|---|---|---|
| Conformity | Social approval | Passive safety |
| Bad Faith | External pressure | Hidden resentment |
| Authenticity | Personal values | Active freedom |
- First, identify the values that truly matter to your own sense of self.
- Next, acknowledge the specific choices that align with those internal standards.
- Finally, accept the consequences of those choices without blaming outside forces.
By following these steps, we move away from the fear of the unknown and toward a life built on our own terms. We stop viewing death as a deadline that ruins our plans and start seeing it as the boundary that makes our time valuable. If our time were infinite, our choices would lose their weight, because we could always try again tomorrow. Because our time is limited, every single decision carries the gravity of a final act. This awareness turns every day into a meaningful expression of who we are and what we stand for in the world.
True freedom requires us to accept full responsibility for our actions instead of blaming the circumstances of our birth or environment.
But this model of radical individual choice becomes difficult to apply when our decisions directly impact the health and survival of others.