[austintorn@aol.com]

Although and because we are thrown into this world without our asking, man must make himself what he will be by defining his own reality, for existence precedes essence; in other words, man does not exist to fulfill a purpose. An existentialist counters the feeling of no purpose by embracing reality. Even consciousness is not primary because it is always conscious of something. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.