Existentialism in Paris and Prague
In college, I studied philosophy extensively through Anderson University's Honors Program. My worldview was profoundly impacted by engaging with Western civilization's major philosophers and schools of thought. I found existentialism to be among the most compelling. My travels in Europe have given me the opportunity to re-explore existentialism, and I found this throughline in my trips to Paris and Prague to be notable.
In short, existentialism asserts that everything is meaningless until we give it meaning by our decisions. As it is commonly put, "existence precedes essence." It proliferated in the aftermath of the Second World War, when people were grappling with human nature and its ability to cause catastrophe. It is captivating to consider this philosophy in Europe, where its loudest proponents lived in the midst of world war and where the effects of the war are still readily seen and felt.
While in Paris's famed English bookstore, Shakespeare and Co., I scoured the shelves for Simone de Beauvoir. Beauvoir lived in Paris her entire life, and her magnum opus, The Second Sex, is among the greatest works of feminist literature. I found a copy, and it felt necessary to take the time to begin reading it in the city of its drafting. Undoubtedly, de Beauvoir was influenced by Parisian culture, which has a long history of empowering women. (Supposedly, Paris is known as the City of Love because women began marrying for love before it was acceptable to do so.) The Second Sex is an existentialist work because its core tenet can be summarized in the quote, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
Contrary to Paris, Prague is reputable for its evasion from the destruction of the World Wars. Its spires and streets are thus largely preserved, giving Prague its distinct feel. I went to the Kafka Museum in the "Lesser Town." Though Franz Kafka lived just beyond the First World War, his works articulate existentialism. Kafka was a lawyer who lived in Prague (for some of his childhood, right next to the Astronomical Clock). For him, existentialism likely originated from crises of wartime, anti-Semitism against his Jewish community, and his bureaucratic legal career in insurance. The Trial is his most famed work, and it uses the inaccessibility of the legal system to lament the hopeless search for meaning.
Existentialism is more than an interesting idea to consider—it permeates our modern society. An awareness of philosophy increases my own consciousness, and I think it is important to be given the opportunity for these reflections. Perhaps Kafka utilized the legal system as the vehicle of his existentialist thought because of the way the law's search for truth and justice often seems elusive. This is an important point to consider for anyone in the legal profession. What will happen when the values that called one to law aren't present in the work? For anyone interested, here is a link to a short parable of Kafka's: https://shortstoryproject.com/stories/before-the-law/.