You are your life, and nothing else

You are your life, nothing else

In this passage by Antonia Case, the article is told through the perspective of an existentialist, which in short, is a philosopher who regards human existence as unexplainable, and emphasises the question on why we exist in this world. The author's main claim is that we are responsible for our own lives and our future. The author opens her hook by putting the reader situation, telling the reader if he or she would stand over a cliff he would not only be afraid of falling, but the reader would also be afraid of wanting to fall off. The author uses this statement to support her claim. The author then gives evidence by using the philosophical opinion of kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Kierkegaard who argued that life is series of choices, bringing up the subject of coming face to face with a cliff, he claims that the dread and anxiety that follows is a case of “Existential Angst”. Heidegger, in the other hand believes that man is nothing but his own project, he states that as much work that we have done, whether we have accomplished all of our task, our death can get in the way. This philosophy is called “being-towards death”. And then their is Sartre who claims that “We have no other purpose than the one we set ourselves”.

I do think that we are responsible for our own lives, and no one else.The bad things that happen in our lives can be avoided. This passage can support the idea of cause and effect, and the domino effect. We can decide what goes on in our future through the paths we take, but we must be careful and either take action to help prevent something bad from happening or accept the consequences of our actions. However, in terms of politics and government (people making decisions for us), that is something we can try and change but it might not end up work. In the passage when the philosophers; Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre are mentioned is an example of ethics. The entirety of the passage states that in this world we are practically on our own, and every decision can affect our future and how we will end up, each human being is in charge of and responsible for making their life meaningful. It is up to us to find our purpose and it is up to us to take charge. This gives the reader a sense of emotion, which can either be anxiety or confusion. Another sign of pathos is when Beauvoir we are not really in control and that people telling us how to act and live when we are little, can later on prevent us from living our own lives, which we dream and aspire to have. One sign of logos is the stating of opinions of the philosophers.