The Problem of Existence To Be Prior Than Essence in Existentialist Philosophies

Abstract

The Problem of the Priority of Existence to the Essence in Existentialist Philosophies: The priority of existence is a basic principle that gives existentialist philosophy its character. Existentialist themes such as value of people, meaning of life, freedom and responsibility, design and selection, understanding of individual and the God and problem of values emerge from questioning this principle in high scales. The priority of existence, in this form, manifests the lifelike attitude towards existence and nihility, life and death. According to this, the human being is not only a primal object of knowledge, but also a world of existence with all its forms in which existence took place and experienced. This world is not exactly a world that can be measured, understood and explained through reason and logic; it has not only an ambiguity, and inexpressibility, but it also presents an element of "secret" in itself. Existentialism is a tendency which defends the priority of existence against any kind of scientific and philosophical problem. The effort to gasp physical and spiritual world as an object of knowledge is secondary in this tendency. The principle of the priority of existence finds its roots in "the priority of existence to essence" doctrine of Sartre. Sartre transforms this principle into a "systematic" form, better to say into a "doctrine" in his existentialist philosophy. In this article, what the principle of priority of existence is and what sorts of results it causes will be discussed. What does the priority of existence to essence mean? What does the essentialist understanding represent? From which process has it gone through? What sorts of human understandings does the priority of existence to essence require? In the article, the answers to these kinds of questions will be sought.