Freedom is one of the core principles of existentialism. Existentialism asserts that human beings are free and so responsible for shaping their own existence. However, this freedom often leads to encounters with absurdity, the realization that life lacks inherent meaning. Sartre for instance opines that humans are absolutely free. This means that every human person is free to carry out any action, whether right or wrong. Kidnapping is a social phenomenon that poses a threat to the freedom of the other person on the one hand, and on the other hand an expression of (acting as one wills). The other person is denied of his freedom by being stripped of freedom and inherent dignity thus reducing that individual to a mere object. This paper attempts to examine the complex connection of freedom and existential absurdity in kidnapping in Nigeria. This will be achieved through the analysis of the works of key existentialists such as Soren Kierkegaard, Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger. The paper will adopt conceptual analysis as its methodology.
Written By
Emmanuel Adetokunbo Ogundele
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies,
Augustine University,
P.M.B. 1010, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria.
emmanuel.ogundele@augustineuniversity.edu.ng
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