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23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 7. Existential Action

[existentialist attitude to decisions and ethics]

16 ideas
Life isn't given to us like a novel - we write the novel [Novalis]
What matters is not right choice, but energy, earnestness and pathos in the choosing [Kierkegaard]
Life may be understood backwards, but it has to be lived forwards [Kierkegaard]
Morality used to be for preservation, but now we can only experiment, giving ourselves moral goals [Nietzsche]
Nietzsche was fascinated by a will that can turn against itself [Nietzsche, by Safranski]
Every decision I make moves towards or away from fulfilled Existenz [Jaspers]
When a man must choose between his mother and the Resistance, no theory can help [Sartre, by Fogelin]
If I do not choose, that is still a choice [Sartre]
Essential problems either risk death, or intensify the passion of life [Camus]
Danger and integrity are not in the leap of faith, but in remaining poised just before the leap [Camus]
Kantian existentialists care greatly for reasons for action, whereas Surrealists care nothing [Murdoch]
Only a philosopher might think choices create values [Murdoch]
Refraining from murder is not made good by authenticity or self-fulfilment [Foot]
Ethical conviction must be to some extent passive, and can't just depend on the will and decisions [Williams,B]
Taking responsibility won't cure ethical uncertainty by; we are uncertain what to decide [Williams,B]
The key to existentialism: the way you make choices is more important than what you choose [Graham]