Existential Angst and the Question of Human Freedom

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.211120.034How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Existentialism; Freedom of will; Anxiety; Metaphysical motivation

Abstract

This paper briefly explores the metaphysics of freedom and death through an analysis of the short film, Amito 502, from an existential point of view. It brings into philosophical light the motivating drive by which the film’s main character commits murder as a means of self-realization and a daring act of the will to absolute freedom. I proceed, first, by making the case that various forms of oppression in life experiences potentially yield a deep sense of angst and alienation. This brings about, in the film’s character, alienation and a loss of practical agency that would motivate a quest for an authentic self of pure freedom, through his willing of a murderous act. By committing murder, the character experiences the full measure of willing evil and dangerously meets the darkest metaphysical conditions for freedom, as per the exposition of the German Idealist philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. This allows me to draw the prospective conclusion that in a depressed life, a person can still be capable of acting on his own will and exerting a will to human agency and freedom.

Copyright

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yijun Zhou
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/11/29
TI  - Existential Angst and the Question of Human Freedom
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 3rd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 181
EP  - 184
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211120.034
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.211120.034
ID  - Zhou2021
ER  -