Existence Precedes Essence - Havel's View

Havel's View

In his speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Václav Havel, in speaking of life under a Communist type of totalitarian system, proclaimed that "The specific experience I'm talking about has given me one great certainty: Consciousness precedes Being, and not the other way around, as Marxists claim," thus showing the philosophical and spiritual importance of a political issue, arguing that the communist totalitarianism as such ran contrary to any and all intuitions of the general population, who held steadfast to their beliefs, customs and traditions, even in secret, despite the measures taken against them. Who in effect continued to identify themselves as indigenous Slavic populations, and not as communists. Thus Havel argues that, indeed, essence (consciousness) precedes existence (being), and not the other way around, since human nature as such, i.e. the conscious act of self-reflection and -identification, embedded in, conditioned and cultivated by a traditional foundation will always remain present; even after having been "liberated" from such "superstition".