Flipped Learning Activity on Reflections on Existentialism: A Journey through Freedom, Meaning, and the Absurd
This blog is written as part of the flipped learning activity designed and guided by Dr. Dilip Barad, Professor and Head, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University (MKBU). The task encourages students to explore the philosophical movement of Existentialism through a series of insightful videos and reflective exercises.
The core idea is that existentialism is not defined by belief or disbelief in God, nor by membership in a single doctrine, but by a shared structure of human existence. That structure can be understood as a triangle whose sides are individuality, freedom, and passion (or lived emotion).
Existentialist thought begins with the individual thinking subject, not abstract systems or collective truths. Meaning, values, faith, despair, and even God can only be encountered after the individual confronts existence directly through anxiety, absurdity, despair, or freedom. Whether one ends up religious (like Kierkegaard) or atheist (like Camus or Sartre) is secondary. What matters is that meaning is not inherited from the herd but won through personal confrontation with existence.
This is why thinkers who disagreed sharply Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus can still be grouped together. They all treat existence as something lived, chosen, and felt, not merely theorized. And this is also why existentialism resonates so strongly with young people: it speaks directly to moments of crisis where identity, freedom, and meaning are painfully undecided.
2. Albert Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus (Part I - An Absurd Reasoning)
Camus begins The Myth of Sisyphus by framing suicide as the most urgent philosophical problem, not because he endorses it, but because it is the logical test of whether life is worth living once its absurdity is recognized. The absurd arises from the collision between the human demand for meaning and the silent, indifferent universe.
For Camus, suicide is a deeply individual and inward act, born in silent reflection rather than public doctrine. Thinking itself destabilizes our habitual lives: once we pause and reflect, the illusions that make daily routines bearable dissolve, and the world appears strange and alien. This experience of estrangement is the feeling of the absurd.
However, Camus firmly rejects the idea that recognizing life’s meaninglessness logically requires suicide. There is no necessary connection between judging life as meaningless and judging it as not worth living. The central philosophical task, then, is to examine whether the absurd truly dictates death or whether one can live in full awareness of the absurd without escape, whether through suicide or false hope. This sustained confrontation with meaninglessness, without resignation, is what Camus calls absurd reasoning. His answer to absurdity is not death, but conscious, defiant living..
Video 3. Albert Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus (Philosophical Suicide)
For Camus, the absurd is not a property of the world nor of human beings alone, but the result of their confrontation: the human longing for meaning meeting an indifferent, irrational universe. Once this confrontation is recognized, there are only two ways to escape it—physical suicide, which negates the human being, or philosophical suicide, which negates reason by leaping into hope, transcendence, or faith.
Camus rejects both. To appeal to God, transcendence, or any form of forced hope after recognizing the absurd is to betray the very insight that revealed it. This “leap” does not resolve the absurd; it erases it by sleight of hand, replacing honest confrontation with consolation. Absurd reasoning, by contrast, demands fidelity to the evidence that awakened it: a life lived without hope, without appeal, and without resignation, sustained in conscious dissatisfaction. What defines the absurd man is not despair, but the courage to remain in the fragile moment before the leap—to live fully aware that there is no ultimate justification and no escape.
Video 4: Dadaism, Nihilism and Existentialism
Dada arose in 1916 as an act of revolt against World War I, but more deeply against the system of values that had made such a catastrophe possible. It was not nihilism in the sense of believing in nothing, but rather a violent rejection of inherited values—moral, artistic, political, and linguistic—that had proven themselves bankrupt. The Dadaists believed that civilization itself, with its obsession with reason, order, nationalism, and “high culture,” had led directly to the war. If those values produced mass slaughter, then they did not deserve reform; they deserved destruction.
For this reason, Dada was never primarily about creating art or proposing a new culture. Creation was secondary to questioning. By stripping art of rules, intention, craftsmanship, and meaning, Dada forced viewers to confront the arbitrariness of the values they took for granted. When confronted with a readymade or a nonsensical performance, the spectator is compelled to ask: Is this art? And once that question arises, a far more dangerous one follows: If this can be art, then what grounds all of my other values? Dada functioned as a tool—a clearing of ground—making it possible for new values to emerge only after the old ones had been destabilized.
In this sense, Dada closely parallels existentialism and absurdism, though it is not identical to either. Like existentialism, Dada insists that individuals must not passively accept values imposed by tradition or authority. And like absurdism, it recognizes the irrationality of existence without seeking refuge in false consolation. But Dada stops short of offering an ethical or philosophical system. Its task is more radical and more dangerous: to break the tables of values, in Nietzsche’s sense, so that freedom becomes possible at all. As Hugo Ball’s refusal of inherited language suggests, liberation begins with questioning even the words through which meaning is imposed.
Ultimately, Dada is best understood not as nihilism, but as a transitional rebellion a refusal to accept a world that no longer makes sense. It is an honest response to absurdity, one that embraces chaos rather than disguising it with seriousness or false ideals. By declaring that everything is absurd, Dada does not sink into despair; instead, it opens a space in which individuals can begin to think, create, and value for themselves. Its power lies not in what it affirms, but in what it courageously refuses.t artists and audiences to doubt the answers they had been given.
Video 5: Existentialism - a gloomy philosophy
Existentialism, though often labeled as gloomy or pessimistic, is fundamentally a philosophy about freedom, responsibility, and creating meaning in an indifferent or absurd world. Its focus on anxiety, despair, and absurdity is not meant to trap us in negativity but to make us confront life’s realities and actively choose our own path. Emerging after World War II, a period marked by chaos, loss, and disillusionment, existentialism responded to the emptiness people felt, offering a way to reclaim agency. By rejecting imposed values and questioning inherited norms, individuals are encouraged to define their own purpose, take responsibility for their choices, and live authentically, turning life’s uncertainties into opportunities for self-realization rather than despair.
Video 6: Existentialism and Nihilism: Is it one and the same?
Existentialism opposes nihilism by urging individuals to create their own meaning in life rather than passively accepting meaninglessness. Philosophers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Camus advocate responsibility, rebellion, and active engagement with life, turning despair or absurdity into an opportunity for self-defined purpose.
Video 7: Let us introduce Existentialism again!
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes human freedom, individuality, and responsibility in creating meaning in life. Unlike religious or philosophical systems that claim to provide absolute answers, existentialism urges individuals to confront the human condition our mortality, anxiety, and confusion directly and to craft their own values and purpose.
The famous notion that “existence precedes essence” captures this idea: humans are not born with a predetermined nature or purpose but have the freedom and responsibility to define themselves through their choices. While existentialism acknowledges life’s inherent difficulties, it is fundamentally an optimistic philosophy of personal agency, not nihilism, as it empowers individuals to live authentically and create their own meaning despite life’s uncertainties.
Video 8: Explain like I'm Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche:
The video uses a fun “Explain Like I’m Five” style to describe Nietzsche’s idea of existentialism. It says that most people follow rules set by parents, teachers, or society without thinking about why. Nietzsche (or “Nii” in the video) argued that these rules are made up there’s no universal law telling everyone what is right or wrong.
Existentialism says that we are free to create our own rules, make our own choices, and take responsibility for them. In the video, this is explained with the playful idea of an “Übermensch” (Superman), someone who decides what is good or bad for themselves, rather than just following what others say.
So, the central idea is: You are free to decide your own values and how you live your life.
Video 9: Why I like Existentialism? Eric Dodson
Existentialism insists “existence precedes essence”: humans aren’t born with a built-in purpose. In a universe that’s fundamentally meaningless (the “absurd”), we must create our own meaning through choices and take full responsibility for those choices — strive to live authentically rather than hide behind borrowed roles, doctrines, or excuses.
Video 10: Let us sum up: From Essentialism to Existentialism
The video explains existentialism as a philosophical response to essentialism. It centers on Jean-Paul Sartre’s claim that “existence precedes essence,” meaning humans are not born with any fixed purpose or divine blueprint we first exist, and only later define ourselves through our choices and actions.
In an absurd and meaningless world, existentialism teaches that it’s up to each individual to create their own meaning, live authentically, and take responsibility for their freedom instead of blindly following social, religious, or moral authorities.
While this freedom can feel terrifying (“we are condemned to be free”), it’s also empowering because we give life its meaning.
I. I Am Impressed by the Following Thoughts
Video 1 – What Is Existentialism
I am impressed by the idea that existentialism is not about belief or disbelief in God but about individuality, freedom, and passion. The focus on creating meaning through personal confrontation with existence rather than accepting inherited truths is deeply empowering.
Video 2 – Albert Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus (Part I – An Absurd Reasoning)
Camus’s belief that life’s absurdity does not demand suicide but calls for defiant living impressed me. His courage to face meaninglessness without resignation shows an active, life-affirming strength.
Video 3 – Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus (Philosophical Suicide)
I found the idea of philosophical suicide fascinating—Camus’s rejection of false hope and his insistence on living “without appeal” reflects true intellectual honesty and emotional resilience.
Video 4 – Dadaism, Nihilism, and Existentialism
I liked how Dadaism is interpreted not as destruction for its own sake but as liberation through questioning. By rejecting old values, Dada opens space for new ones a rebellious act that connects art to existential freedom.
Video 5 – Existentialism: A Gloomy Philosophy
The explanation that existentialism is not pessimistic but a philosophy of responsibility and freedom changed my earlier perception. It teaches that anxiety and despair can be gateways to self-discovery.
Video 6 – Existentialism and Nihilism: Is It One and the Same?
The distinction between existentialism and nihilism impressed me existentialism transforms despair into meaning through individual rebellion against the absurd.
Video 7 – Let Us Introduce Existentialism Again!
The statement that “existence precedes essence” resonated deeply with me. It highlights human capacity to define ourselves through actions, not predetermined nature.
Video 8 – Explain Like I’m Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche
I was struck by the playful yet powerful message: we are free to make our own rules. Nietzsche’s idea of the Übermensch teaches self-creation rather than blind conformity.
Video 9 – Why I Like Existentialism by Eric Dodson
The thought that authentic living means taking full responsibility for our choices impressed me most. Existentialism here becomes a call to self-awareness, not an escape from responsibility.
Video 10 – Let Us Sum Up: From Essentialism to Existentialism
Sartre’s idea that “we are condemned to be free” felt profound freedom is both a burden and a blessing, demanding ethical responsibility even without universal rules.
My Learning Outcome
This flipped-learning activity has significantly deepened my understanding of existentialist philosophy.
I now grasp that existentialism is not merely a “gloomy” worldview but a celebration of freedom and individuality.
I feel more confident discussing concepts such as the absurd, authenticity, philosophical suicide, and existence preceding essence.
The videos clarified how thinkers like Camus, Sartre, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard respond differently to the same human condition yet all emphasize self-defined meaning.
Most importantly, I realized that existentialism invites responsibility and creativity in life, not despair.
This activity encouraged reflective thinking and independent analysis, helping me connect philosophy to my own experiences of choice, anxiety, and meaning.
Five Thought-Provoking Questions
If life’s meaning must be created individually, how can existentialism still promote shared moral responsibility in society?
Can we live authentically without periods of crisis or suffering, or does authenticity always emerge through struggle?
Is Camus’s refusal of hope a realistic philosophy for people living in social and political oppression?
How does the existentialist idea of freedom differ from modern ideas of personal liberty shaped by consumer culture?
When art movements like Dada challenge all values, can they still contribute to moral or social renewal?
My Favourite Video
The video “Why I Like Existentialism” is my favourite because it speaks to me on a very personal level. The speaker doesn’t present philosophy as something abstract or difficult but as something deeply human and emotional. Existentialism, as explained in the video, is not about belief or disbelief in God it is about how each person creates meaning in their own life. I connected with this idea because it feels honest and real. Life often feels uncertain, and this video helped me see that uncertainty is not a weakness but a natural part of existence.
What I love most about the video is how it inspires me to think independently and take responsibility for my choices. It shows that meaning is not given by others not by society, religion, or tradition but something I must discover through my own experiences. The simple and reflective tone of the speaker made me feel calm and motivated at the same time. It helped me understand that existentialism is not just a theory to study, but a way of living with awareness, courage, and authenticity. That is why this video remains very close to my heart.
Feedback
This activity was engaging and intellectually enriching. The combination of videos, reflective writing, and questioning encouraged critical thinking and self-directed learning true to the spirit of existentialism itself.
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