ExistentialismWhat is this absurd philosophical idea he is trying to teach
seventeen year old ?AP? students? Does anyone actually know the meaning of this word and its relevance to the real world? Well, that is the idea, that those people who are ?existentialists? are the people who are on the borderline of normal. People who lead an existential life are often times in a realm of loneliness and despair on their own individual basis. The imperfections of man make the existentialist yearn for the answers to life’s troubles. These answers and problems shine through the music of Pink Floyd.
In the song ?If? by Pink Floyd, the writer is in denial of his existence. He no longer depends on fate coming to his rescue and saving him from absolute despair. He uses the lines of pretending to be someone else to enhance the feeling that he no longer understands his own individuality. The writer does not have any self-confidence anymore; he has lost his sense of being through many years of trouble. He questions his existence and his place on earth through examples such as ?If I were a swan, I’d be gone,? and ?If I were a good man.? The writer wishes that he was a different man, one who is well loved and with a purpose for living. The writer gives the impression that he can’t find the strength to move on in life. This is very similar to the existential viewpoint of always questioning one’s purpose here on earth. Why are we here and what are the principles that design our life?
These questions are seen through song upon song of Pink Floyd. The writer continues to try to find meaning through this song by developing the themes of life and death. The existentialist believes that the only one thing that is certain on this planet is that all living organisms will eventually die. The writer asks the reader ?If I go insane, / and they lock me away, / Will you still let me join in the game?? He is asking a more powerful source such as GOD if he still has a chance to a happy life even after his sins. He wants to continue with the ?game? of life but he has found loneliness and despair and doesn’t know how to go on and make something of himself. This lonely man also feels that he is an individual, and when the time comes for his death, he doesn’t want anybody or anything to interfere with his destiny. He wants to die without wires in his brain. By dying a natural death, he will be able to fulfill his true existential beliefs.
Pink Floyd was a marvelous group with many tremendous songs and albums. They inspired many people to become true individuals by literally being themselves on stage. They truly possessed those existential beliefs that flourish throughout all their music, and they provoked people to take a second look at their lyrics and find a deeper meaning under the surface.
Philosophy
