The Existential Paradox with Nature

We live in an existential society, whether we are aware of it or not. Heidegger, Sartre, Einstein and several other brilliant thinkers in the early 20th century completely revolutionized how we perceive and interact with nature. Without going into how each one altered our reality, lets just skip right to the final product: Existentialism. Although a lot of people reject Existentialism, claiming it be the philosophy that killed God, or the philosophy of the devil. Ok, so some Existentialists have been Atheists, but lets not be so ignorant as the believe that this implies everything about their philosophies are negligible. Even the most evangelical around today cannot deny their existentialist outlook.

How is our society existential?

1. Emphasis on the individual. In our modern, capitalistic, western world we are taught that we are individuals. We are taught to think for ourselves and to live out our own beliefs. That's the American dream, right? No one else can tell you what you what and what not to do; find what you love and turn it into something you can make a living out of. This is existential thought.

2. Our existential anxiety. Existential Anxiety is the feeling of meaninglessness that arises from some sort of crisis about our existence. For many existentialists, as well as with my own life and the lives of many of my acquaintances, we have identified the source of our existential anxiety as: The disparity between who we see ourselves as (our infinite Self) and who we are perceived as (Finite Self). For example, I see myself as an open person who is accepting and agreeable. Others, for whatever reason, may see me as manipulative, aggressive, stuck up, whatever! When I try and mend this clear disparity I come into conflict with myself. Am I who I think I am or who I present myself to be? What is the Self, where do I fall back on? What am I doing here? What is my purpose? Is purpose what I should search for?

3. The Rise of Eastern influences in the US, the rise of Quakerism, the rise of new age philisophies, the rise of peganism, feminism, impressionism, phenomenology.

The only way out of this existential anxiety is to find subjective meaning. We cannot every know for sure any absolute meaning of existence, but we can learn what makes us, as individuals happy. We can each seek out our passions, dreams, and meanings... Sound like the American dream?

Ok, so we acknowledge the existence of existential thought in society today... so what! My whole point is that we need to reconnect with nature on a personal, subjective, spiritual level. Existential thought causes us to look within ourselves to find the answers to our existence. Existentialism causes us to see ourselves as divided between our finite and infinite Selves. There are so many false dichotomies that even the most devout existentialists would admit that there must be something more than existentialism, because otherwise we are stuck in a rut of meaninglessness within ourselves. This is exactly why traditional existentialism needs to be abandoned in the next century and replaced with something that connects us to the world again.

Don't get me wrong... I am an avid follower of existentialism and I believe the process of existential thought is infinitely valuable in analyzing ourselves and our current state of society. However, this isn't where humanity is meant to stop. We are not at the height of thought and perspective, of enlightenment and prosperity. If we can all come together, and seek within ourselves our place in existence in relation to nature and the living world, we will continue to more fully understand our world.

The problem comes from the perception of the Self. Existentialists claims that we are always at war with different parts of the Self. Maybe we can never remedy the disconnect within ourselves, but I believe if we see ourselves as part of All Of Life then we will see that the whole world is the Self. We cannot survive on our own. The planet provides us with nourishment, shelter, and others to share life with. On our own, we would be vastly different beings, so how can we not claim that what we depend on is also part of ourselves. I am more like my parents than other adults because they have provided for me and given me sustenance. I have developed to mimic many of their habits and ideologies. So where do I end and begin. What can I claim as my infinite Self if I have been given life from the help of so many outside influences. In this respect, we cannot live without everything that is on this planet. All Of Life is in balance with each other. Our histories as species are intertwined throughout evolution and we are co-dependent on each other. Just because we can kill all of the tigers and still live doesn't mean that we aren't worse of because we have killed that part of ourselves.

When we begin to see ourselves as connected to All Of Life then we see ourselves, and therefore, the value of caring for everything on this planet. What a different world we would have if we saw part of ourselves in the forest as opposed to seeing it as a profit for our material Selves.

This is the Existential Paradox. How can we be individuals and be everything at the same time? How do we need to shift our ideologies to accommodate this shift?