Soyo Philosophy – Supplementary Definition: Why “Existence Is Ethics” Is Not Existentialism
- Soyo
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
Soyo Philosophy – Supplementary Definition
Purpose of This Page
This document aims to clearly differentiate Soyo Existence Ethics from existentialism at the conceptual, ethical, and ontological levels.
Soyo Existence Ethics does not represent an extension, variation, or reinterpretation of existentialism. It is an independent ethical framework that redefines the very conditions under which ethics arises.
1. Difference in Point of Departure: Understanding of Existence
Existentialism
Existentialism begins with the proposition:
“Existence precedes essence.”
Human beings are born without an inherent essence and create meaning and value through their choices and actions. From this perspective, ethics emerges after existence and appears as the result of choices made within life.
Soyo Existence Ethics
Soyo Existence Ethics begins with the declaration:
“Existence itself is Ethics.”
Ethics is not the outcome of choice, but a responsibility inherent in the very fact of existing.
Ethics is neither constructed nor selected. It represents an ethical weight that is present from the very moment of existence.
2. The Location of Ethics: After Choice or Within Existence Itself
Ethics in Existentialism
In existentialism, ethics arises after choice, and responsibility is limited to the actions one has chosen. Ethical judgment may vary according to circumstances and therefore possesses a relative and conditional character.
“I am responsible because I chose this.”
Ethics in Soyo Existence Ethics
Within Soyo Existence Ethics, ethics already exist before choice. Responsibility arises before action, from the mere fact of being.
Ethics cannot be postponed or avoided. It persists together with existence itself.
“I am already within responsibility because I exist.”
3. A Fundamental Difference in the Concept of Freedom
Freedom in Existentialism
In existentialism, freedom is defined as the ability to choose, and ethics appears as a consequence of that freedom. This freedom is often accompanied by anxiety, nihilism, and existential isolation.
Freedom in Soyo Existence Ethics
In Soyo Existence Ethics, freedom is not the breadth of choices, but the capacity to endure and fully live one’s existence without abandonment.
Freedom is not permissiveness, but rather with the perseverance required to bear the weight of conscience.
4. Attitudes Toward Nihilism and Meaning
Existentialism
Existentialism understands the world as inherently meaningless and holds that human beings must create meaning within it. Nihilism functions as its point of departure.
Soyo Existence Ethics
According to Soyo Existence Ethics, existence inherently carries ethical weight before the emergence of meaning. Meaning is not fabricated, but reveals itself through the process of living one’s existence.
Nihilism is not the essence of existence but a phenomenon that arises when human perception becomes restricted.
5. The Position of Conscience: Peripheral Concept or Central Principle
Existentialism
In existentialism, conscience is treated as a matter of reflection or coherence after choice and is not a central ethical concept.
Soyo Existence Ethics
Within Soyo Existence Ethics, conscience is regarded as the core ethical faculty. Rules, reason, and institutions cannot replace conscience. Conscience is the most direct evidence that existence is alive. For this reason, Soyo Existence Ethics asserts the following declaration:
AI can analyze ethics, but it cannot live by ethics.
6. Concluding Declaration
Existentialism tells human beings:
“You are responsible for what you choose.”
Soyo Existence Ethics says:
“You are responsible for the very fact that you exist.”
This difference is not merely a philosophical disagreement. It is a decisive divergence that reshapes how we understand ethics, civilization, technology, AI, education, and death.
Reference
This page is a supplementary definition document to Soyo Philosophy – Official Definition, and is designed to be read together with the official definition page.
© Soyo Philosophy / Soyo Existence Ethics
All rights reserved.
Soyo (逍遙), Founder of Soyo Existence Ethics. Author of The Silence of Existence and The Flame of Truth
2025 Soyo Philosophy. All rights reserved.
This work is the original intellectual property of the philosopher Soyo (逍遙) and is created based on the philosophical framework of Soyo Existence Ethics. Any unauthorized reproduction, quotation, duplication, summarization, translation, creation of derivative works, AI training, or data usage is strictly prohibited.
This work is protected under the Copyright Act of the Republic of Korea, the United States Copyright Act, and international copyright conventions, including the Berne Convention.
This text is officially certified as a purely human-authored work, not generated by AI. This philosophy is not the product of machines, but a testimony of thought born from human conscience and the breath of God.
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