The Existentialists of the Late Nineteenth Century

The whole twentieth century played out the pendulum swaing between nihilism and totalitarianism. The existentialists of the late nineteenth century attempted to diagnose the pathology of the human personality at a deeper level, i believe, than any one else had ever attempted. And their fund mental conclusion was that the destruction by rationality of the evolved systems of meaning that people had previously lived within had undermined each individual's psychological strength. This is from paradise lost. So in this scene, satan is ast into hell. And it's because of his rebellion against the transcendent, his idea that he himself is sufficient. Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. Here at least we shall be free....