Understanding Existentialism Through a Flipped Learning Experience

This blog is written as part of a flipped learning activity on Existentialism given by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad. In this activity, we watched videos shared on the teacher’s blog and reflected on important ideas of existentialist philosophy. Here is the link to the professor's Blog for background reading: Click here 

Understanding Existentialism Through a Flipped Learning Experience

Here is Infographic on Authenticity in the Absurd:

Video 1: What is Existentialism? :

I interpret existentialism as a philosophy that speaks honestly about the confusion and pressure we experience while growing up. What struck me most is that existentialism does not promise comfort or ready answers. Instead, it accepts uncertainty as a natural part of life and asks us to face it courageously.

I understand existentialism as saying that life does not give us meaning we have to create it ourselves. This idea feels both frightening and empowering. Frightening because there is no fixed path to follow, and empowering because it means my choices matter. My identity is not something given to me by society, religion, or tradition alone, but something I shape through my actions.

Camus’s idea of the absurd feels especially relevant to student life. We often work hard, dream big, and search for purpose, yet life does not always respond the way we expect. Instead of giving up or escaping reality, existentialism encourages us to continue living consciously, even when things feel meaningless. This attitude feels strong and honest rather than hopeless.

For me, existentialism feels less like a philosophy from textbooks and more like a guide for inner reflection. It helps me understand feelings like anxiety, loneliness, and self-doubt not as weaknesses but as signs of awareness. As a student who enjoys literature and self-thinking, existentialism becomes a way to understand my inner struggles and still move forward with responsibility and freedom. 

Video 2: The Myth of Sisyphus: The Absurd Reasoning (Feeling of the Absurd)

I understand Camus’s idea of the absurd as a way of looking at life honestly without running away from its discomfort. What affected me most is his claim that understanding meaninglessness does not mean life should end. Instead, it means life should be lived with awareness. This idea feels strong because it refuses both false hope and hopelessness.

I interpret the absurd as something that appears when my expectations meet reality. Like many students, I search for purpose, success, and clarity, but the world does not always respond fairly or logically. Camus helps me understand that this gap between what I hope for and what the world offers is not a personal failure it is part of existence itself.

What I find meaningful is that Camus does not blame either humans or the world. The absurd exists only because we think, question, and hope. This makes confusion feel valid rather than shameful. Instead of demanding answers, Camus encourages us to stay conscious, to keep living, and to resist giving up, even when certainty is absent.

For me, the idea of the absurd turns despair into clarity. It teaches that life does not need guaranteed meaning to be lived sincerely. As a reflective student interested in literature and inner thought, I feel that Camus gives permission to live with questions, to accept uncertainty, and still choose life with dignity and awareness. In this way, the absurd becomes not a reason to escape life, but a reason to live it honestly. 

Video 3: The Myth of Sisyphus The Notion of Philosophical Suicide:

I understand philosophical suicide as the moment when a person stops questioning because the truth feels too uncomfortable. It is not about ending life, but about ending honest thinking. When uncertainty becomes difficult to bear, there is a temptation to choose comforting beliefs simply to escape anxiety. Camus helps me recognize this tendency clearly.

I agree with Camus that jumping into faith or absolute meaning after recognizing the absurd feels like avoiding the problem rather than facing it. It may bring emotional comfort, but it closes inquiry. What I find powerful is Camus’s insistence that living without illusion does not mean living without strength. Staying with uncertainty requires more courage than choosing easy answers.

For me, this idea connects strongly with student life. We often look for fixed meanings, guarantees, or authorities to tell us who we are and what our life should mean. Camus challenges this habit. He suggests that real honesty lies in continuing to think, question, and live even when no final answers are available.

I interpret Camus’s refusal of philosophical suicide as an act of resistance. To live without hope, without false belief, and without escape is not despair it is clarity. Remaining in that fragile space before the leap, where nothing is certain, feels difficult but truthful. Through this lens, meaning is not something we escape to; it is something we live through awareness, resistance, and responsibility.

Video 4: Dadaism, Nihilism and Existentialism

I understand Dadaism and existentialism as movements that begin with refusal a refusal to accept inherited meanings without questioning them. What attracts me to both is that they do not pretend the world is stable, fair, or logical. Instead, they respond honestly to historical violence and human suffering.

I do not see Dadaism as meaningless chaos. Rather, I see it as a reaction to a broken world. When old values led to war and destruction, Dadaism chose to tear those values apart instead of respecting them. This feels emotionally honest to me. Before rebuilding meaning, something false must first be dismantled.

I also find the relationship between Dadaism and existentialism psychologically convincing. Dadaism clears space by destroying structures; existentialism enters afterward and asks what an individual should do once those structures collapse. First comes doubt and negation, then comes freedom and responsibility. This sequence reflects how people often experience crisis in real life.

Both movements also share a deep engagement with the absurd. They do not fear absurdity but accept it as part of modern existence. As a student interested in literature and philosophy, I find this comforting not because it gives answers, but because it removes false certainty. In the space between destruction and creation, I find a way of thinking that allows honesty, freedom, and faithfulness to one’s own experience rather than borrowed truths.

Video 5: Existentialism - a gloomy philosophy 

I do not experience existentialism as a gloomy philosophy but as a realistic one. Life already contains uncertainty, fear, and confusion, and existentialism does not hide these realities. What I find meaningful is that it treats these emotions as starting points rather than final conclusions.

I feel especially connected to Nietzsche’s idea of “becoming who you are.” This idea suggests that identity is not fixed or waiting to be discovered but is formed through choices, failures, and reflection. I like this because it removes the pressure of having to “know myself” completely. Instead, it allows growth to be slow, uncertain, and imperfect.

For me, existentialism emphasizes responsibility without being moralistic. It does not tell me what to believe or how to live, but it reminds me that my choices matter. This makes life feel serious, but also meaningful. Rather than offering comfort, existentialism offers honesty. It encourages me to face fear, contradiction, and freedom directly and still choose to live authentically.

In this way, existentialism feels less like a dark philosophy and more like a practice of becomingone that accepts uncertainty while insisting on responsibility, self-examination, and personal truth.

Video 6: Existentialism and Nihilism: Is it one and the same?

I understand the difference between nihilism and existentialism as the difference between giving up and choosing to respond. Nihilism accepts that nothing matters and stops there. Existentialism begins at the same realization but refuses to remain passive.

What stands out to me is that existential thinkers do not deny meaninglessness; they face it directly. Kierkegaard responds by restoring individuality, Nietzsche by creating new values, and Camus by insisting on rebellion. In contrast, Cioran’s acceptance of futility feels motionless. It recognizes the problem but refuses to act, and this passivity feels emotionally heavy rather than honest.

I find Camus’s idea of rebellion especially convincing. To live without guarantees, without final meaning, and still choose to act feels courageous. It suggests that meaning does not need cosmic approval to matter. Like Dadaism, which destroys false values to make space for freedom, existentialism confronts nihilism by insisting on responsibility rather than resignation.

For me, existentialism feels like an ethical response to emptiness. It does not promise hope, but it refuses despair. It asks the individual not to escape, not to surrender, but to remain engaged with life. This active stance makes existentialism feel alive and demanding, while nihilism feels static and withdrawn. In that difference, I find existentialism not as denial of meaninglessness, but as resistance against letting it have the final word.

Video 7: Let us introduce Existentialism again!

I connect most deeply with existentialism through Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novels, because they show existential ideas through lived psychological suffering rather than theory. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov believes he can define his own moral rules, but his inner collapse reveals that freedom without responsibility leads to anguish. His suffering comes not only from society, but from within himself.

This helps me understand Sartre’s idea that existence precedes essence. Raskolnikov tries to invent an identity through theory, but meaning cannot survive without responsibility. Similarly, in Notes from Underground, the narrator rejects logic, progress, and rational systems simply to prove that he is free even when it hurts him. This shows that human beings are not predictable machines but beings who choose, sometimes irrationally.

What I find powerful is that Dostoevsky does not comfort the reader. He shows the cost of freedom, the loneliness of self-awareness, and the pain of choosing oneself against society. Through his characters, existentialism becomes not just something to understand, but something to endure.

Video 8: Explain like I'm Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche:

I really like this video because it explains Nietzsche in a way that feels playful but serious. Using a Superman figure makes the idea of value-creation understandable without removing its danger. It shows that morality is not just obedience, but something that requires thinking and responsibility.

What interests me most is the children’s reaction. Their discomfort shows that existential freedom is not just personal it affects others. This helps me understand why existentialism can feel threatening. Freedom does not happen in isolation; it creates tension in social life.

For me, this also explains why existentialism speaks so strongly to young people. Adolescence is a time of questioning authority and inherited rules. Nietzsche’s idea of “becoming who you are” reflects this stage of life, where freedom feels exciting but also frightening. The video makes existentialism feel real, not abstract.

Video 9: Why I like Existentialism? Eric Dodson 

  

I relate strongly to this video because it presents existentialism as compassionate without being comforting. It does not judge weakness or confusion, but it does not excuse passivity either. It accepts human limitations while still demanding responsibility.

Like Nietzsche’s idea of “becoming who you are,” this view places meaning in the hands of the individual. For me, this honesty makes existentialism feel empowering rather than depressing. It meets people where they are and asks them to live consciously.

Video 10: Let us sum up: From Essentialism to Existentialism

I understand existentialism not as a denial of meaning, but as a demand for responsibility. It does not say life is meaningless; it says meaning is not given freely. We must create it through our choices.

What stays with me is the idea that freedom is unavoidable. Even refusing to choose is a choice. Existentialism feels difficult, but honest. It teaches me that living authentically means accepting uncertainty, taking responsibility, and remaining engaged with life despite the absence of guarantees.

A Personal Reflection on Video 9: Why I Like Existentialism

Video 9 resonated with me because it explains existentialism through real human life rather than abstract philosophy. The speaker shows that existentialism begins from everyday experiences such as confusion about the future, fear of failure, loneliness, loss, and moments when life feels uncertain or unfair. These situations are common in human life, which makes the philosophy feel natural and believable.

Logically, existentialism starts with the fact that life does not come with fixed instructions. For example, when we face academic pressure, career confusion, or personal disappointment, no external rule can fully tell us what to do. The video explains that instead of escaping these situations or blaming fate, existentialism asks us to face them honestly and take responsibility for our choices. This connection between freedom and responsibility makes the philosophy practical.

The video’s idea of radical honesty is also connected to real life. People often hide pain behind social expectations or pretend everything is fine. Existentialism, however, encourages us to admit anxiety, suffering, and fear without shame. For instance, after failure or loss, feeling confused or hopeless is not weakness but part of being human. Accepting this truth allows personal growth rather than denial.

Another important idea in the video is that suffering can become meaningful. In life, experiences like rejection, heartbreak, or failure often force us to reflect on who we are and what truly matters. The video suggests that such moments, though painful, can teach responsibility, empathy, and self-awareness. Meaning is not found in comfort, but formed through how we respond to difficult situations.

Finally, the video presents existentialism as a life-affirming rebellion. This rebellion appears when individuals question social norms, refuse to live mechanically, and choose authenticity over convenience. Simple acts like choosing a meaningful career over a socially approved one, standing by personal values, or living consciously in the present moment reflect this existential attitude. Through these everyday events, existentialism becomes a philosophy that encourages courage, honesty, and full participation in life.

My Learning Outcomes from the Existentialism Activity:

• This activity helped me understand existentialism in a better way than before.

• I learned that feelings like anxiety, fear, and confusion are normal in life, especially when we try to find meaning.

• The videos clearly explained the difference between existentialism and nihilism. Nihilism gives up on meaning, but existentialism asks us to create our own meaning.

• I understood that human beings are free to choose, and every choice comes with responsibility.

• I learned the idea of bad faith, which means avoiding responsibility by blaming society, fate, or rules.

• This activity helped me connect philosophy with real-life experiences like making decisions, facing problems, and understanding myself.

• Overall, this activity taught me that existentialism is not about escaping life, but about accepting reality and still choosing to live with purpose.   

References :

Barad, Dilip. “Existentialism: Video Resources.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 19 Sept. 2016, blog.dilipbarad.com/2016/09/existentialism-video-resources.html.