The Existential God: He Doesn't Decide for You

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Existentialists views on the absence of God and it's relation to choice were viewed as a pessimistic view but it was more realistic than some other views of the time. It was hard to comprehend but it became so popular that a lot of philosophers found themselves arguing upon the ideas presented. Nietzsche was one of those philosophers, known as the man who killed god which signified “the loss of the absolute” (Kenevan). This was the same idea that Sartre had of men being pushed to choose and take responsibility but he took it further. He believed that someone who has good faith and takes most responsibility will eventually evolve into a superhuman (übermensch). A superhuman, in a very simple way, is what a regular human is to monkeys, he is more complicated and intelligent. He can therefore decide for those who are inferior, he can make new values, those separated from those of the former God. He can criticize whatever action he pleases of the inferiors.

These thoughts of Nietzsche can be seen as the philosophical underpinnings to the movie Rope by Alfred Hitchcock. Brandon believed that he was good enough, superior enough to decide that it was David's time to die. He convinces Philip to join him in the murder by justifying his actions saying “The good Americans usually die young on the battlefield, don't they? Well, the Davids of this world merely occupy space, which is why he was the perfect victim for the perfect murder.” It is questioned in the movie whether they could ever be the ones to decide on the life of another as Rupert, their prep-school housemaster and mentor, asks Brandon in the end “Did you think you were God, Brandon?” It should be said that by God he presumably means a superior power who could ever decide on human life and not a religious God. Brandon however believes he is above everyone, even his mentor Rupert, who taught him of philosophy, of right and wrong. He believes that anyone standing in his way is inferior to him. This is a psychological installation of Nietzsche's beliefs but it portrays the choice element of the existentialist philosophy very openly. Brandon, chooses to kill his friend and is willing to take responsibility for it, Philip however regrets his actions. This is again a display of good faith and bad faith. Brandon, even if he committed a crime he owns up to it, therefore he's of good faith. Philip on the other hand, doesn't wish to take any responsibility, therefore he's of bad faith. In the end, even though they both committed the same crime it can be said that Brandon is more virtuous than Philip given the fact that he owns up to what he has done.

Both works however show similar traits in people who have killed God in their heads. Showing that it is not easy to lose God, it takes responsibility and control, traits that most people don't rely on. It is not easy for many to be the only reason they've done something, they'd rather have an excuse such as Garcin in No Exit saying that he deserted war because he was a popular pacifist and that is what people would've expected of him. Another example is Philip, who constantly had the attitude that Brandon made him do what he did but in reality he is as responsible as Brandon in the murder because he chose to be a part of it. However, the biggest excuse for all they have in their minds but they do not mention is that God made them do whatever they did because they are mere players in the game of fatality, an idea that's been around since early Greek settlings, maybe before. Existentialism tries to get in the way of this thought. It tries to make people think upon their actions before doing them. This is why both works have gone to extremes with actions such as murder, to show that no matter what one has done they have to take responsibility. That is the essence of Existentialism. Men, after existing, create their own essence by their choices. So, Inez has chosen to be a sadistic lesbian postal worker as much as Brandon has chosen to be a college graduate who killed one of his best friends for the purpose of making art with murder. The absence of God makes it possible for people to control themselves in a way that they haven't before. They need to have a sense of self limitation and self knowledge. It is only then that it can be truly visible that a man who has no God can be of better faith than a man who has a God that he blames actions on. It is only then that it can be seen that a society based on the fundamentals of existentialism such as choice and responsibility is healthier than a fatalist society where all decisions are made in heavens and people believe they have no control over them.

Works cited:

Moore: http://search.proquest.com/docview/410732674/9F3B8262917D4822PQ/1?accountid=59641

KENEVAN, PHYLLIS BERDT. "Nietzsche And The Creative Consciousness." Man And World: An International Philosophical Review 15.(1982): 383-394. Philosopher's Index. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

SARTRE, JEAN-PAUL. “Existentialism is Humanism” Yale University Press; Trade Paperback Edition edition, 2007.

SARTRE, JEAN-PAUL. “No Exit and Three Other Plays”. NY: Vintage International, 1976.

HITCHCOCK, ALFRED. dir. “Rope” Warner Bros., 1948. Film.