Philosophy and Art History
Existentialism is a 20th century philosophy centered upon analysis of human existence and the way in which individuals find themselves existing in the world. The philosophical concept by Simone de Beauvoir a French novelist and one of the world’s leading feminist is all about human existence and how such individuals interact with nature. In other words, existentialism is concerned with individual’s capacity to find the meaning of life through personal responsibility, free will and choice.
Human beings believe that people search out to find who and what they are through out life as they try to make choice based on beliefs, experiences and outlook. The concept of existentialism argues that personal choices are unique without any form of objective truth. Existentialists believe that an individual should be forced to choose and show aspects of responsibility without help of traditions, laws or ethnic rules. Existentialism belongs to the class of intellectual history that borrows some concepts of rationalism.
The term is a self-description by Jean Paul Sartre but a dissemination of philosophical output by philosophers such as Simone de Beauvoir. Existentialism was identified with cultural movement in Europe between 1940 and 1950. Definition Existentialism is defined as a philosophical theory which holds a set of categories governed by authencity and is necessary to grasp human existence. In this context, the term can be associated with human heart as it pertains character as gesture to protest against academic philosophy.
The life of human being is surrounded by certain aspects such as freedom, boredom, commitment, absurd, dread, alienation or nothingness which constitute the philosophical provision in existentialism. In addition, existentialism takes into considerations certain concepts of human life which include: • Human free will • Decision making process accompanied by stress and consequences • Nature of human is chosen through life experiences • Some things in human life are not rational • The desire of earthly things is usually futile
• An individual is deemed to be in his or her best position when struggling against individual nature or fighting for life • Society is unnatural and traditional, religious or secular rules observed by people are arbitrary • Personal responsibility and discipline are important concepts in human life Existentialism reflects various human aspects but it dos not support a number of life experiences in the society such as: • Pleasure, wealth or honor for good life • Science is in a position to make everything in life better
• Acceptance of what is enough in an individuals life • Social values and structure control individual • People are usually good but spoiled by external factors or the society Existentialism is made up by a variety of religious, philosophical and political ideologies thus there is no particular universal agreement in a set of arbitral beliefs and ideals. The society is shaped by existence of politics which seeks the most individual freedom of people within the society. This is a major concept that shapes the life of individuals although political organizations vary.
Simone de Beauvoir argues that human life is not fully satisfying and complete without suffering. The life of human beings is surrounded by losses that occur because of certain considerations such as lack of power, control and perfection over one’s life. However, this does not mean that human life is not optimally satisfying but it has some meaning. Therefore, existentialism is a journey that allows individuals to search for true self and personality in life. The objective as is required by philosophical observation is for society to impose their values, beliefs or rules and accept them as they are obeyed.
Personal judgment according to existentialists is the most important aspect in human life other than arbitrary secular or religious world values. Masculine versus femininity Masculine or feminine is a feeling of belonging to a gender and has at least three meaning. First, in biological aspect, it refers to primary and secondary characteristics that make a man different from woman. Second, in sociological aspect, masculine and feminine means the real and symbolic roles men and women are supposed to carry in the society. Each gender in the society is responsible for executing certain jobs that reflects their masculinity and feminism.
Third, from psychological point of view, masculine and feminine means consideration of certain traits that belongs to either gender. The main concern in this paper is the psychological aspect of masculine and feminine which connects the dialectical reversal of otherness. Masculine and femininity is a concept that reflects certain traits which make man better than women. In the modern society, the issue of gender equality has been of essence whereby women have overtaken the roles traditionally believed to have been performed by men.
Competition and time has overtaken events and currently women have taken their male counterparts by dominating manual, professional, technological and other responsibilities in social or political life. The art of feminist as established by Judy Chicago between 1960 and 1970 was a clear indication on how women dominated various profession deemed for men. During this period, women started to create artwork as a way of expressing their femininity, personal accomplishments and political views. One prominent feminist during this period was Judy Chicago with her good artwork.
A major development in this paper is the comparison of masculinity and femininity which from the psychological viewpoint means distribution of roles between genders. Women are considered as weaker sex and their societal values differ less than their male counterparts. This is a major difference between masculine and femininity. Another difference between the two genders is that men’s values from one country to another or society to another takes assertive and competitive dimension which is maximumly different from women’s values.
Masculine and femininity differ in the aspect of care, expression of emotions and interpersonal relationships. The ethics of care reflects the opposite of masculine ethics which include caring, irrational, concrete and emotional. Care ethics reflects on private realm which is a reflection of interpersonal relationships. This means that women mostly or the femininity aspect of philosophy is build around other people. The major attribute in this point is that masculine which is an alternative for men is a way of providing protection to feminine or women.
Women depend on men for provision of certain services although in the modern society things have taken another turn whereby women seem to be more independent. Accordingly, women are usually emotional, have a sense of caring while men are less emotional. It is a philosophical difference that reflects traits of masculinity and femininity. The society is supposed to respect women and this is observed in the modern society whereby women are celebrated for their achievements. The role of women in the society is very essential as it serves the purpose of reconciling through expression of emotions and acting in a professional manner.
Reasons that make men to be better than women As a requirement of the paper, certain characteristic traits make men to be better than women in various aspects of life. The masculine aspect of a man makes him better than women. This is reflected in the society whereby certain jobs that require the use of energy are only performed by males. Men are better than women in the context providing protection to family members and the entire society. A father who is deemed the head of family has the role of providing for his family which is a collective responsibility bestowed ion him by God.
A man is better of than woman who depends on him for provision of basic needs and security. The society recognizes the role of man as an essential duty that differentiates him from other creatures. A good and strong man is the one who knows his position and acts in the capacity of a responsible man to outperform women. However, women nowadays have taken the role of men but most essentially in the professional field. The issue of masculinity and femininity cannot be compromised, as it is an ethical and psychological consideration. Conclusion
Existentialism a psychological concept entirely relates to masculine and femininity which connects to issue of superiority between the two genders. The world is changing with time and this means that the role of men in the society is taken by women as a way of maintaining equality. As the society tries to acknowledge this phenomenon, it should be noted that certain tasks are suitable for a particular gender group. Each gender group should know their position and role in the society so as to maintain a balance. References Zaretsky Eli, 1996, Psychoanalysis and Postmodernism, American Literary History, Vol. 8.
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