Chapter I
1. Existentialism can be as simple or as complicated an intellectual pursuit as one wishes it to be.
2. The specific meaning of Existentialism is too often over thought;
3. As an intellectual pursuit it cannot be over thought, but to define its meaning we should draw it down to its most basic, and then allow those who wish to pursue it to impose what they may upon it.
4. And from this point Existentialism is the seeking to understand existence.
5. It is a theme that is visited in much literature and film as, who am I, where am I going, what is my purpose;
6. And to this we can add, what is the world's purpose, does the universe have a beginning, does it have an end, is there a God,
7. And to the more abstract, what is the substance of existence, is it even close to what we believe it to be,
8. And by an even more abstract extension, do we even exist at all.
9. To too narrowly define Existentialism is to largely defeat its purpose, and so it is probably best to define it as such, and for its pursuers to take it wherever it leads.
10. One of the more famous statements in the sphere of Existentialism is, existence precedes essence, which can be taken as we have free will to act and free will to define, or, all springs from us.
11. Some other common themes of Existentialism are despair, futility of existence, alienation and anxiety and although these terms in of themselves have extremely negative connotations, they are only avenues to understanding, and not avenues that all who pursue Existentialism will choose.
12. As avenues to understanding, or perhaps more accurately to better understanding, and purely as avenues, these things take on a positive aspect.
13. Of course this is not the case for some, and if an individual's path leads them to despair, futility of existence, alienation or anxiety as an end, then this is a matter for the individual as much as it is for Existentialism.
14. Existentialism is seeking to understand existence, and it will go where it's going to go according to the mostly unconscious dictates of the individual and their acquaintance;
15. It is neither an indicator of intellect or of ignorance if it leads to despair, anymore than it is an indicator of intellect or ignorance if it leads to sunshine and daffodils.
16. Too often in this world do we equate the scowl with wisdom and the smile with the fool, when it is very often found to be the opposite;
17. Although it is rarely found to be the opposite by the fool who would believe himself wise.
18. Authenticity is (very) arguably the key element of Existentialism, and as such gets a mention in this opening chapter:
19. Authenticity can be defined as, whatsoever a person believes, they believe it for themselves and whatsoever a person does they do it because they believe and understand the substance of the action separate from any consideration of others, and choose it independently of others.
20. Authenticity can be defined a great deal more complexly, but at its core, this is what it is, and in keeping with the underlying theme of this first chapter, it is a matter for the individual to take it where they will.