P1+Ashley+D

Editorial by: Ashley N. Dryden

Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913 in Mondovi, Algeria. He was a French author and philosopher of the twentieth century. Albert was known to be one of the major leading figures during the Existentialist movement. "Albert Camus was one of the leading figures of the twentieth century Existentialist movement in France" (EBSCOhost). Albert Camus was one of the few who lead the Existentialist movement. Existentialist means a philosopher who emphasizes freedom of choice and personal responsibility, but who regards human existence in a hostile universe as unexplainable. Albert Camus was known to be quite the philosopher of Existentialism. He felt the need to be free of his own choices within his life. He wrote many pieces of litature such as The Stranger, which received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. A few years later Albert Camus was in an automobile, which in result he is killed at age 46. Still throughout the years passed, his litature is still read and spoken about. Citation:  Belanger, Craig. Albert Camus. N.p., 2006. EBSCOhost. Web. 18 Aug. 2010. .

 Friedrich Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844 in the small town called Röcken.He was yet another philosopher and wrote many types of literature. His first book was known as Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik, which means The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music. Nietzsche believed that there was no God and that God is dead. "With the collapse of metaphysical and theological foundations and sanctions for traditional morality only a pervasive sense of purposelessness and meaninglessness would remain. And the triumph of meaninglessness is the triumph of nihilism: “God is dead” (EBSCOhost). This thought lead to the book called The Anti- Christian. It was a book that went against all Christianity aspects. Many people didn't like the thought of this, but it was his expression upon what he thought when it came to this religion.He would in various ways make fun of the Christian beliefs. Throughout his life was a sick man, dealing with his health. He would have to travel from place to place to better climates. Eventually he died from a mental collapse. The Anti-Christian, still, is read throughout the years to come. Citation: Magnus, Bernd. Nietzsche, Friedrich. N.p., 1 July 2010. EBSCOhost. Web. 16 Aug. 2010. .

Jean Paul Sartre was born in Paris on June 21, 1905. He wrote many plays and books that were mainly in French. HE mainly focused on books and play productions. The spark of his career began when he was very young. As a child he focused more on plays rather than books. "As a child of six or seven he had been given a set of finger puppets, which he would take to the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) near his family's apartment" (Gale). Sartre produced eleven plays and 5 produced scripts. As he grew older he went to study more into philosophy and after he graduated school he made his mark as becoming a philosopher. His philosphies mainly centered around literature and his productions. Throughout his life, he refers to any direct consciousness of the thing-in-itself as a "pre-reflective consciousness." Pre-reflective consciousness means that one has self-awareness and can reflect on what they are doing. Throughout Sartre's life he struggled and was on medication due to his physical condition deteriorating. Sartre died on April 15, 1980 due to edema within his lungs. Citation:  Ireland, John. Jean-Paul Sartre. Twentieth-Century French Dramatists. Ed. Mary Anne O'Neil. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 321. Literature Resource Center. Web. 19 Aug. 2010. .

 Martin Heidegger was born on September 26, 1889 in Messkirch. He was known as a German philosopher within the main exponents of existentialism. He also studied ontology and metaphysics. During the 1930's he was elected into the Nazi Party, but resigned a year later. Heidegger wrote and produced his masterpiece which was known as Sein und Zeit (Being and Time). “If Being is predicated in manifold meanings, then what is its leading fundamental meaning? What does Being mean?” If, in other words, there are many kinds of Being, or many senses in which existence may be predicated of a thing, what is the most fundamental kind of Being, the kind that may be predicated of all things?" (EBSCOhost). Heidegger stated this within one of his essays. He is simply asking what is the purpose of even being here, or being brought into the exsitence of this life. He conducted a phenomenological investigation of the being of a human individual, which he called this called Dasein. Heidegger came to the conclusion that the human individual was already known to be in the condition of “Being-in-the-world” which meant already caught up in the world and commited to something. Throughout his years or practice and studying Heidegger died on May 26, 1976. To this day, his philosophies are thought of throughout the many people that have the question of Being. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Naess, Arne D. Heidegger, Martin. MAS Ultra, 1 July 2010. EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Aug. 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&hid=108&sid=0fd56292-4ea9-4a9f-8426-b4398199ca4a%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=ulh&AN=32412547>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sören Kierkegaard was born May 5, 1813 in Copenhagen. The majority of philosophers and writers work revolve around Kierkegaard. He was known to be a Danish philosopher, theologian, and cultural critic who had a major impact on existentialism and Protestant theology. "His works, esteemed as trenchant studies in religious reform, social criticism, psychology, and communication, display Kierkegaard's skill as a unique stylist with an ability to tailor form to the specific intent of a composition, whether a scholarly treatise or an impassioned anti-intellectual discourse" (Gale). He opposed other traditional Western philosophy. Western philosophy mainly focused on the identification of universal truths. Intead of Kierkegaard focusing on the identification of universal truths, he focused on the acknowledgement of the importance of faith and the limitations. Kierkegaard believed in Christianity because it gave him a sense of superiority over the ones who dismissed him as a crank or outcasted him because of his physical deformities. Sören Kierkegaard died in the fall of 1855. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Citation: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Soren Kierkegaard." Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Aug. 2010. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=tucs00655&tabID=T002&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=5&contentSet=GALE|H1410000312&&docId=GALE|H1410000312&docType=GALE&role=LitRC>.