Psychology. Existentialism. Existentialism is a term applied to the work of certain late 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences,[1][2][3] shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual.[4] In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.[5] Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.[6][7] Definitional issues and background[edit] There has never been general agreement on the definition of existentialism.
The term is often seen as an historical convenience as it was first applied to many philosophers in hindsight, long after they had died. 19th-century philosophy. In the 19th century the philosophies of the Enlightenment began to have a dramatic effect, the landmark works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau influencing a new generation of thinkers.
In the late 18th century a movement known as Romanticism began, it validated strong emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror and terror and awe. Key ideas that sparked this change were evolution, as postulated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Erasmus Darwin, and Charles Darwin and what might now be called emergent order, such as the free market of Adam Smith. Pressures for egalitarianism, and more rapid change culminated in a period of revolution and turbulence that would see philosophy change as well.
Brief historical outline[edit] BAMASSCOMMUNICATION. Mission of the College The Lamar D.
Fain College of Fine Arts encompasses programs in art, mass communication, music, and theatre. The primary purpose of the college is to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue careers in these disciplines. To accomplish this purpose, emphasis is placed on applying classroom learning to process and performance. The college prides itself on ensuring that its students do what they study: in its art studios, in its newspaper and television laboratories, and in its concerts, recitals, and dramatic productions.