Proponents of Existentialism - Essay Example

For that matter, he explored the said journey of every man focusing on the lives of his acquaintance. According to Frankl, people exist due to different factors regardless of the nature of the said factors. Some people live based on negative or positive reasons yet they still exist and survive. The said view then is referred to as the “will to meaning”. He followed the inspirations of Freud who proposed the view “will to pleasure” and Adler’s “will to power” in his objective to give meaning to human existence (Pytell, 285-306; Frankl and Allport, 101).

The most notable applications of the view Frankl had been about the experiences in concentration camps which occurred during the time of the Holocaust. During a period of high stress wherein the main objective that consumes a person’s life is survival, thus, even simple things and events can give a person’s life an important meaning.  Based on his observations, such situations can be considered as the time wherein the simplest principles of existentialism apply, an event wherein luxuries are deprived and even basic needs are in shortage. He then summarized that even in the worst situations, existence will still have meaning. For that matter, the will to meaning is an important reason for existence (Frankl and Allport, 15-20).

Soren Kierkegaard is a Danish proponent of Existentialism and is s theologian. He is against the formalities undertaken by the Danish church. For that matter, he often discussed issues that are related to Christianity, ethics, and the emotions of people in different situations and decision-making events in life. Kierkegaard can be considered a relatively opinionated person who explored challenging issues of his time such as existentialism, philosophy, psychology, literature, and several other fields. For that matter, his critics can be classified in both the fields of science, literature, and even religion. Although this is the case, his recognition explored several fields, and he is known as an influential figure of his time (Hannay and Marino, 25; Kierkegaard, 15; Lippitt, 10).

The aphorisms of Kierkegaard can be considered the main basis of the Existentialism discussion that the recognized truth of every person is the main objective and reason for his existence. For that matter, a person can give his existence for a philosophy, a career path, a person such as a loved one, or a religion (Hannay and Marino, 25; Kierkegaard, 15; Lippitt, 10).