On Existentialism

I dug this one up from a few years ago, I wish I would write more than two paragraphs at a time

It is quite interesting to note, that existentialism has come a long way from being a fringe philosophy in the early 19th century, to the mainstream mode of thinking today. However, it seems that the concept of a mainstream philosophy is inherently incompatible with the main ideas of existentialism. Freedom of individual thought, which according to Kierkegaard is the holy grail of existence, is solely dependent on the external influences from one's peers; for a lone person is, by definition, original.

Therefore, one must concede that striving for existentialism is a self-defeating purpose. The more one labels oneself, and identifies oneself with a particular group, the farther one strays from originality and individualism. The existentialism of today, in its grim reality, is nothing more than a label of the day, behind which lies the consumerism and collectivism with a hint of uninspired Dadaist self-expression.

Not that there is anything wrong with that