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Introduction
Many think that existentialism is not philoso-
phy as idealism or pragmatism. They consider
existentialism as an approach to philosophy
rather than a system of philosophical thought.
Nothing has been said in the primary litera-
ture of existentialism about education. It is a
broad generalization to say that no important
fi gure in existential philosophy has had any-
thing signifi cant to say about education, yet
is true. There is no indication that education
policy is considered by existentialist as impor-
tant. Existential thought has much in it that is
directly relevant to religion and to what in the
broad sense; at least we should call psycholo-
gy, but of education there is little said directly.
Why it should be so is a provocative question
for me. In our previous inquires, we have been
able to fi nd specifi c connection of one kind or
another between philosophic ideas and edu-
cational ideas.
Development of existentialism
Hindu philosophy is an extension, interpre-
tation, criticism and corroboration of the
Vedas and in it the Upanishads or an out-
right revolt against them. Similarly it may
be remarked of western philosophy as either
a clarifi cation of Socrates philosophy or his
rejection. One would be still right in saying
that the whole of western philosophy is an
appendix on Socrates. So it is even true with
existentialism that Socrates has been consid-
ered to be the fi rst existentialist. “Know thy-
self” was Socrates admonition (Wingo, 1975).
Certain features of existentialism are found
in Hindu philosophy, as there is insistence
on the knowledge of the self, Janna, and in
EXISTENTIALISM IN EDUCATION
Matrika Prasad Koirala
Department of Education
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to survey the historical development of existentialist
philosophy, meaning of existence, its philosophical premises and perspectives. Further,
this also deals with implications of existentialism in selection of aim of education,
organization of curriculum, role of teachers and students and school organization.
Keywords
Existence, nihilistic, being-in-itself, being-for-itself, individuality
Academic Voices
A Multidisciplinary Journal
Volume 1, N0. 1, 2011
Academic Voices, Vol. 1, N0. 1, 2011
40
Buddhist philosophy, which seeks enlighten-
ment, “bodhi”. There are a number of corre-
lates in Hindu philosophy for existential con-
cepts e .g. anguish, dukha, dread and horror;
bhagya etc Chaube &Chaube(1991). Plato, Spi-
noza Leibnitz, Descartes and also majority of
western thinkers believe in the immutability
of ideas and the rest of the thinkers have been
suggesting correctives to it. The last in the se-
ries was Hegel who carried farthest this eff ort
to understand the world rationally.
Reason and nature were given more impor-
tance during the eighteenth century. As a re-
sult, there were industrial and technological
developments and science was given greater
importance. Objectivity was very much en-
couraged. This situation curtailed the free-
dom of individuals and they became puppets
in the developing industrial society. Machines
were handmade, but they became slaves to
them. From the scientifi c viewpoint, like oth-
er aspects of nature; man was also regarded as
an object of exploitation. Against this devel-
oping situation, existentialism emerged as a
protest against the society, the state and the
world and asserted the supremacy of the in-
dividuality of man(Chaube & Chaube ,1995).
Existentialism found great recognition and
popularity during the twentieth century
(Wikipedia, 2011). Five men are generally con-
ceded to be the leading fi gures in existential-
ism. They are Soren Kierkegaard (1815-1855),
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Martin Hei-
degger ( 1899 -1976), Karl Theodor Jaspers (
1883- 1969) and Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980).
Edmund Husserl(1859-1938), and Gabriel
Marcel(1889-1973) were very much infl uenced
by existentialism.
Meaning of existence
Etymological meaning of existence from two
German words- ‘ex- sis tent’ meaning that
which stand out, that which ‘emerges’ sug-
gests that existentialism is a philosophy that
emerges out of problems of life. To existen-
tialism, the existence of the individual doesn’t
mean only by ‘his being alive’. It stands for the
full, responsible and progressive life of the
individual in the ever-developing industrial
society. Humans should get an opportunity
for subjective consciousness. Truth is realized
only in inner life. As modern mechanical /
industrial life has taken away individual free-
dom from man, existentialism lays emphasis
on freedom and individual responsibility. It
has an eye-view on human weakness and in-
security as man is leading a lonely life being
surrounded by anxieties, frustrations, fear,
feeling of guilt etc. Their individuality is being
crushed.
Views on existentialism
Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Kierkegaard is regarded as the father of ex-
istentialism (Feibleman, 1973). Kierkegaard’s
original and extremely important contribu-
tions to existentialist philosophy are under
three categories. First, there is Kierkegaard’s
interpretation of the essentially subjective
nature of human existence; his insistence on
the complete freedom of the individual to
chose and to become what he wills himself to
become; and his consequent denial of deter-
mination and the priority of essence over ex-
istence. Secondly, there is his protest against
institutionalized Christianity that seeks to
understand and make clear what is paradoxi-
cal and absurd and therefore outside the pos-
sibility of human reasons. Third, there is Ki-
erkegaard’s analysis of the human conditions
as being one of despair and anxiety, at the
root of which lies the necessity for choice in a
world that is completely undermined.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Nietzsche was without any doubt one of the
aesthetic geniuses of the nineteenth century,
but his genius often was an erratic as it was
brilliant. Nietzsche, like Kierkegaard, had
basic religious theme, but he treated it very
diff erently. Kierkegaard believed the Church
killed religion, but he believed that God ex-
ists and can be known, although not in the
M.P. Koirala
Academic Voices, Vol. 1, N0. 1, 2011
41
formalistic sense that the Church prescribed.
Nietzsche went beyond and insisted that reli-
gion is dead because god is dead.
The root of Nietzsche’s ethical relativism lies
in his prediction that a new episode in history
is to begin with an era that will be nihilistic
so far as the old, conventional values are con-
cerned. Nietzsche was infl uenced by the Dar-
winian conception of nature as evolutionary.
In this view, life is on a continuous process of
evolutionary development (Wingo, 1975).
Martin Heidegger (1889 –1976)
Heidegger does not accept himself as an
existentialist but from the philosophical he
is an existentialist (Chaube & Chaube, 1995).
He made a deep study of history but Greek
philosophy has been the main source of his
philosophical ideas. According to him, the
individual may experience his ‘self ’ by living
in the World itself. The following two kinds
of things are found in the world: a. Those
things that was present in the world before
man was born.b. Those things that man uses
as a means. According to Heidegger, man’s
knowledge is a result of interaction between
the mind and object of the world. Knowledge
comes through the insight of the individual.
This knowledge expands further, through
“self”. Freedom is necessary for obtaining this
knowledge. Free dom is essence of truth.
Jean Paul Sartre (1905 –1980)
One of the fundamental concerns in Sartre’s
philosophy is the ontological question of
being, which is the great concern of Heidegger
as well. Perhaps, the most important aspect of
Sartre’s treatment is his distinction between
two forms of being: being-in-itself and being-
for-itself. By being-in-itself, Sartre means
the self-contained being of things: what
we in common speech call object that is,
trees, stones, chairs, tables, and so forth are
examples of being-in-itself. They are what they
are in themselves. On the other hand, being-
for-itself is a realm of human consciousness
and essential fact of consciousness is that it is
always outside of and ahead of itself.
Philosophical premises of existentialism
Existence precedes Essence: It means that,
fi rst of all man exits, turns up, and appears on
the scene, an only afterwards defi nes him. As
a man has no essence, he can only have his-
tory; thus there cannot be an abstract man,
but only individual man, existing in time and
space of history. If at all, man acquires his es-
sence, he does so at the moment of his death
because then he has no other choice left to
him (Thakur, 1982).
The fact of freedom: One of the important
ideas in the existentialist tradition is that man
is free to choose and his choices are undeter-
mined by external conditions. In this sense,
existential philosophers emphasize the prin-
ciple of indeterminism as to oppose various
deterministic theories of nature and human
behavior. However, freedom of man plays an
important part in the thought of most exis-
tentialist philosophy (Wingo, 1975).
No acceptance of readymade concepts: Exis-
tentialism believes that man cannot accept
the readymade concepts of existence forced
upon him. He is a free agent capable of shap-
ing his own life and choosing his own destiny.
Man is not alone in the world: Man is connect-
ed to other man; he communicates to others;
therefore, he cannot live in a state of anarchy.
Life is seen as a gift, which, in part is mystery.
Man is free choosing commitments’ in life, in
his choice, he becomes his self. He is the prod-
uct of his choice.
Truth is introvert and subjective: Existentialist
advocated that the truth should be really ex-
perienced in one’s life. The existence of indi-
viduality will be powerful only when the truth
gives self-satisfaction. In fact, truth should
give self-satisfaction.
Death and nothingness: Existentialist believes
that existence of a person means his period
from birth to death. There was nothing before
birth and would be nothing beyond death. In
between we have been thrown in to a social
Existentialism in education
Academic Voices, Vol. 1, N0. 1, 2011
42
life and the characteristics of this social life
are the contingent circumstances of our life.
This contingency is often characterized by ex-
perience of dread, horror, anguish, solitude,
bewilderment uncertainty and fi nally limited
by death.
Self knowledge: The existentialist considers
‘self –know- thyself’ as the basic premise of
this philosophy (Aggarwal, 1985).
Having reviewed the major elements of the
existentialist school, now I would like to turn
to consider the implications of existentialism
to education:
Educational implications
Aim of education
• The aim of education is to assist a feel-
ing, suff ering, and rejoicing, free person
fashion an essence for himself (Dhakal &
Koirala, 2066, p. 75).
• The duty of the practitioner of education
is to assist the students to assume respon-
sible sel ood, to grow up and face the
world responsibly.
• Education is for full development of the
individuality of the individual.
• Education is to contribute in the realiza-
tion of self.
• Education must make up pupils aware of
the infi nite possibilities of his freedom
and the responsibilities he must bear in
life.
• Education should create consciousness for
self.
• Every individual is unique. Education must
develop to individual diff erences.
Curriculum in existentialism
The existentialists are skeptical of the tradi-
tional approach to curriculum in which fi xed
quantities and selected qualities of knowl-
edge and skill, determined by adult person
or specialist bodies are passed on by teachers
to learners. Even this approach is not popular
with existentialists. As they take a stand that
nothing is fi xed, fi nal, absolute or fi nite, the
“boxes of knowledge” approach is likely to
challenge students to defi ne themselves too
soon (Thakur, 1882).
The existentialists reject any subject matter
that is unrelated to human aspiration, needs
and conditions. They off er suggestions on
how to use the existing subjects properly. For
example, social studies is not for adjustment
as treated traditionally but is for the “dreaded
freedom”; and history should not merely con-
cern itself natural events but with activities of
men who were free to choose the line of their
action. Scientifi c subjects and mathematics
should be included in the curriculum but they
should not be given more stress, as they deal
with objective knowledge. Self knowledge
precedes universal knowledge.
Teaching method
The existentialist philosophy advocates the
Socrates method as a model. The way in which
Socrates conducted his teaching, at least as it
is portrayed by Plato, and the kind of rela-
tionship he established with various ideas we
have discovered in existential philosophy. His
method of teaching was one of asking ques-
tions, refi ning answer, asking more questions,
and pushing the issue until some acceptable
conclusion was reached. Existentialists re-
ject the group method, because in-group dy-
namic, the superiority of the group decision
over individual decision is prominent. There
is a danger of losing unique individualism and
free choice.
Role of teachers and students
we fi nd that in this philosophy, the teacher is
not treated as a technician. Harper develops
role of the teacher when he says that “the good
educator know that he is educating individu-
als, not just man, and will use any method
M.P. Koirala
Academic Voices, Vol. 1, N0. 1, 2011
43
that will educate the whole man. Not even
the whole man, but is his humanity as well
(Haper, 1955).
Existentialists do not wish the teacher to be
social minded umpire or provider of free ac-
tivity (as the pragmatists want) or a model
personality (as the idealist say) to be limited
by the students. He must himself be a free per-
sonality, engaged in such a relation. Teachers
should avoid applying labels to children (such
as’ lazy’ ‘slow learner’ etc) for individuals
may indeed come to think of themselves this
way. The teacher is also changing and grow-
ing as he guides the pupil in his discovery of
self.
The existentialists want to give full freedom to
the child. But the child should know his ‘self’
and recognize his being and convert imper-
fection into perfection. Under the guidance
of the teacher, the student should try to re-
alize his self. The student accepts the disci-
pline prescribed by the teacher and does not
become irresponsible. The child has to make
choice and decision.
School in existentialism
The school should provide an atmosphere
where the individual develops in a healthy
way. Democratic ideals should pervade the
school. Democracy must be the soil in which
the individual grows. Mechanization and im-
personality should be counteracted in school.
Student’s timetables and work programs are
computerized. And thus the relationship be-
tween the individual students and the school
programmed becomes an impersonal one.
Besides, the use of programmed instruction,
teaching machines and other equipments
tends to decreases the personal contact be-
tween teachers and pupils. This impersonal-
ity is a hazard to the individual development
and growth of the child’s personality. Mass
teaching and mass testing is not advocated
in schools. The school should provide an en-
vironment where the individual fi nd security,
encouragement and acceptance by teachers.
Conclusion
Existentialism opposes exploitation of man
and is against the repressive of his individu-
ality but emphasizes the existence of indi-
viduality, thinking as introvert and subjective
phenomenon. Education is to contribute in
the realization of self. Subjective knowledge
is considered more important. It is benefi cial
to selection of educational policy, formulation
aim of education, organizing curriculum, and
selection of eff ective pedagogy. It also applies
in organizing school programs and classroom
practices.
References
Aggarwal, J. C. (1985). Theory and principles of
education. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing
Houses Pvt.
Chaube, S. P. & Chaube, A. (1995). Founda-
tions of education. New Delhi: National
Publishing House.
Chaube, S. P. & Chaube, A. (1991). Philosophi-
cal and sociological foundation of
education. Agra: Vinod Pustak Bhandar.
Chaugule, S. S. (2009). Existentialism in edu-
cation. Articlesbase, Free online Articles
Dictionary (2009). Retrieved on 17 June 2011
from http:/www.articlebase.com/educa-
tion-articles/existentialism in education
12339/.html
Dhakal, M. P. & Koirala, M. P. (2066). Founda-
tions of education. Kathmandu: Ratna
Pustak Bhandar.
Feibleman, J. K. ([1988). Understanding phi-
losophy, Bombay: Jaico Publishing.
Harper, R. (1955). Signifi cance of Existence
and Recognition for Education, Modern
Philosophies of education, Fifty-fourth
yearbook of the National Society for the
Study of Education, part 1, Nelson B.
Henry(ed.), Chicago.
Existentialism in education
Academic Voices, Vol. 1, N0. 1, 2011
44
Thakur, A. S, (1982). The philosophical foun-
dations of education. New Delhi: National
Publishing House.
Wingo, G. M. (1975). Philosophies of educa-
tion: An introduction. New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers Private Limited.
The Author
Matrika Prasad Koirala is a Lecturer in Education in Thakur Ram Multiple Campus,
Birgunj. He has been teaching various courses such as Foundations of Education, Social
Justice and Educational Psychology for the last thirteen years. He has co-authored a
book on education. His subject of interest includes educational philosophy.
M.P. Koirala
