Existentialism and ASD

Post Reply New Topic

Hey Cyberdad… wow..

I appreciate this conversation going forward.. but could you perhaps back some of that up with actual specifics from existential philosophers? I don’t mean to be impolite but I must say that I think that is incorrect.

Existentialism has practically nothing to do with even caring in the slightest how you look in others eyes.. in fact Sartre labeled this preocccupation ‘being for others’ and it is a fundamental aspect of ‘innauthenticity’ in existential philosophy.

I’m sorry to be disagreeable here. But it seems so far everyone is speaking about what they think existential philosophy is rather than what it actually is..

If you want me to back anything and everything I say point by point I can and will do that.

We would need to go slowly and I can validate each statement I make.

I love sharing the truth about existentialism and helping people overcome their misconceptions - as it is something of great beauty that has made my life worth living that is almost always misunderstood and negatively represented.

i only ask that you consider that your view may not be complete and that a little more time on the subject could reveal more than there seems to be now.

Again, as a first step, I will point to Gary Cox’s book “How to Be an Existentialist’

if anyone out there is interested in getting the fundamentals of what it means to author your own existence AND to explore the possibly very fruitful and beneficial link between existentialism and ASD… lets do it here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29695940/

There’s a link with a bit more about the link between Camus’ The Stranger and ASD

There is significant valid evidence here that needs be seriously contemplated.. not presumptively shrugged off..

Take a look.. it’s really fascinating

No please don't apologise and don't feel the need to go back, I have done what you are currently doing back in my 20s (perhaps not to the level of detail you have but I did read widely on everything existential (no need to list names but a few made an impression on me like Nietzsche, Heidegger, Dostoevsky and Kafka (If you ever get a chance read Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum). and and went to meetings with artists, philosophers, scientists, socialists, hindus, buddhists, muslims and even theosophists (yes they are still around)).

So I am giving an older and perhaps more cynical post-existential perspective. I don't wish to cancel the writing of existential philosophers as its an interesting journey and wish you the best.

I have yet to meet anyone who read these works in their 20’s and comprehend it. I read a lot of it in my 20’s and had much the same view. After life had kicked me around a bit, I started back in during my mid 30’s and it was a completely new subject…

I accepted the ‘depression’ view of existentialism back then and was certain I was right. Then wham.. the doors opened up and I was able to see this was mostly religious propaganda.

I’ll keep trying here because it is the subject of my thread.. to see if anyone will really take a look at how ASD relates to existentialism ….and look beyond old shallow trivializing college perceptions of existentialism. ( I went back and found the translations used when I was at USC and many of them were horrendous.. this is part of the problem especially with Nietzsche)

Next I will be exploring if Zathura is another character who shows attributes of ASD.. it may take me a few weeks to get my head around this, but Let’s see what I find…