PrinceMyshkin
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Hey guys so I realize this isn't something that is really common for people to make threads on, but I absolutely love philosophy and have recently gotten into existentialism and have realized that a lot of Naruto touches on some existentialist themes. I'm not going to go too deep into this so that it can remain understandable to people who have never read existentialism. I just really want to lay this out here so that if people find it interesting they can have a new perspective on a new way to appreciate Naruto. Here are just a few parallels with existentialist themes I've noticed in Naruto.
Alienation
In existentialism alienation is an important concept. Basically you feel a profound separation from the world you find yourself in. This is just a part of self-consciousness. One example of this is that as a child you are constantly questioning about the world, because nothing seems apparent everything seems weird. You can be alienated from different things. The world, society, people.
- It's not hard to see how alienation is a big theme in Naruto. Pretty much every villain has a profound sense of alienation. Particularly Obito and Madara who feel a profound sense of alienation from the reality they have experienced.
-Naruto also experiences profound alienation from the rest of Konoha during the beginning of the series and it is his defining life experience.
Absurdity
This is pretty much self explanatory. This is a sense that the world is full of contradictions and absurdities. Basically the world is inherently illogical so that approaching it logically is a flawed approach. Existentialists mainly advise that because this is the way the world is it is necessary to embrace the absurdity of life.
- Going back to Obito and Madara it seems to me that their approach towards life and the meaning of life is to approach it in a logical fashion. Using the infinite genjutsu they will be able to reject all the absurdity of life and be able to create a logically pure life without contradictions and complications.
- On the other hand you can see how Naruto embraces the absurdity of life. Often when confronted by his opponents about why he is doing something, Naruto will just respond with " because it is my ninja way"... this is not a logical answer but somehow it conveys his feelings
Self-hood and Otherness
Although not particularly existential in nature, an important concept is the Self-Other relationship. Basically it is tied into the idea that for in order for you to have an identity you need the Other. It is through the Other that you define your identity. This is because the Other has the power to recognize what you are. A tree can't recognize who you are and a dog can't really define you in any existentially meaningful way, only other people can. What this means is that other people are important to who you are as a person. In other words, recognition is how you figure out who you are.
- It is SOOO easy to see how this is important. Naruto's main driving force throughout the entire series has been the goal of being recognized by others. Recognition is a way of clarifying your existence. You can't be certain of the way you are or that you exist, you need to Other to recognize what you are and that you exist.
- Another way of thinking about this is the Naruto/Sasuke relationship. So putting it really simply part of what Naruto is as an individual is defined through Sasuke. In order to understand Naruto you need to understand his relationship to Sasuke. This shows how the Self/Other relationship is important, because part of the Other is in the Self. It is kind of like a mutually dependent definition. This kind of definition is most easily explained by the example of the wife/husband. How can you explain what a wife is without reference to the husband? Or the husband without reference to the wife? You can't. They are dependent on each other for their definition.
- Another interesting point to make here is that people are constantly recognizing themselves in other people throughout Naruto. Naruto recognizes that Sasuke had a very similar childhood. Jiraiya recognizes himself in Naruto. Tsunade recognizes her lover and brother in Naruto. Nagato recognizes himself in Naruto. Recognition is very different from understanding though. You can recognize the way someone is without understanding them. This is best demonstrated in the Naruto/Nagato confrontation when Naruto and Nagato recognize their similarities but still can not understand one another. However, this shows how recognition can be enough and that you do not need to get to understanding to have a genuine human interaction.
Those are the main themes that came to mind as I was rereading Naruto today. If this goes over well I might write some more on this sort of thing, but if no one is interested then I'm not gonna waste anyone's time and make pointless threads.
Alienation
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In existentialism alienation is an important concept. Basically you feel a profound separation from the world you find yourself in. This is just a part of self-consciousness. One example of this is that as a child you are constantly questioning about the world, because nothing seems apparent everything seems weird. You can be alienated from different things. The world, society, people.
- It's not hard to see how alienation is a big theme in Naruto. Pretty much every villain has a profound sense of alienation. Particularly Obito and Madara who feel a profound sense of alienation from the reality they have experienced.
-Naruto also experiences profound alienation from the rest of Konoha during the beginning of the series and it is his defining life experience.
Absurdity
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
This is pretty much self explanatory. This is a sense that the world is full of contradictions and absurdities. Basically the world is inherently illogical so that approaching it logically is a flawed approach. Existentialists mainly advise that because this is the way the world is it is necessary to embrace the absurdity of life.
- Going back to Obito and Madara it seems to me that their approach towards life and the meaning of life is to approach it in a logical fashion. Using the infinite genjutsu they will be able to reject all the absurdity of life and be able to create a logically pure life without contradictions and complications.
- On the other hand you can see how Naruto embraces the absurdity of life. Often when confronted by his opponents about why he is doing something, Naruto will just respond with " because it is my ninja way"... this is not a logical answer but somehow it conveys his feelings
Self-hood and Otherness
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Although not particularly existential in nature, an important concept is the Self-Other relationship. Basically it is tied into the idea that for in order for you to have an identity you need the Other. It is through the Other that you define your identity. This is because the Other has the power to recognize what you are. A tree can't recognize who you are and a dog can't really define you in any existentially meaningful way, only other people can. What this means is that other people are important to who you are as a person. In other words, recognition is how you figure out who you are.
- It is SOOO easy to see how this is important. Naruto's main driving force throughout the entire series has been the goal of being recognized by others. Recognition is a way of clarifying your existence. You can't be certain of the way you are or that you exist, you need to Other to recognize what you are and that you exist.
- Another way of thinking about this is the Naruto/Sasuke relationship. So putting it really simply part of what Naruto is as an individual is defined through Sasuke. In order to understand Naruto you need to understand his relationship to Sasuke. This shows how the Self/Other relationship is important, because part of the Other is in the Self. It is kind of like a mutually dependent definition. This kind of definition is most easily explained by the example of the wife/husband. How can you explain what a wife is without reference to the husband? Or the husband without reference to the wife? You can't. They are dependent on each other for their definition.
- Another interesting point to make here is that people are constantly recognizing themselves in other people throughout Naruto. Naruto recognizes that Sasuke had a very similar childhood. Jiraiya recognizes himself in Naruto. Tsunade recognizes her lover and brother in Naruto. Nagato recognizes himself in Naruto. Recognition is very different from understanding though. You can recognize the way someone is without understanding them. This is best demonstrated in the Naruto/Nagato confrontation when Naruto and Nagato recognize their similarities but still can not understand one another. However, this shows how recognition can be enough and that you do not need to get to understanding to have a genuine human interaction.
Those are the main themes that came to mind as I was rereading Naruto today. If this goes over well I might write some more on this sort of thing, but if no one is interested then I'm not gonna waste anyone's time and make pointless threads.
