existentialism
Freedom-centered worldview
Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice.
It holds that humans define their own meaning in an indifferent or absurd universe, rather than having purpose assigned by God, nature, or society.
Associated with Sartre, Camus, and Kierkegaard, existentialism influenced literature, psychology, and popular culture throughout the twentieth century.
The term now sometimes appears loosely to describe any brooding reflection on life's meaning: He's going through an existentialist phase.
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
Beauvoir · Marcel · Merleau-Ponty · Dostoevsky · Kafka
Lack of significance
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- absurdWildly illogical
- futilityLack of purpose
Kafkaesque · paradox · irrationality · pointlessness · alienation · dissonance · incongruity · revolt
State of being answerable
- choiceAct of selecting
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
commitment · action · consequence · accountability · self-determination · agency · liberation · Sartre
Deep unfocused worry
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
- forlornnessMiserable isolation of spirit
abandonment · isolation · loneliness · crisis · melancholy · Kierkegaard · abyss · groundlessness
Existing as something
- DaseinHuman existence as lived
- being-in-the-worldExistence as already situated
- temporalityState of existing briefly
- finitudeState of being bounded
mortality · anxiety · Heidegger · situated · embodiment · everydayness · care · concern
Complete absence of existence
- negationDenial or cancellation
- intentionalityPurposeful action quality
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- shamePainful awareness of failure
other · transcendence · immanence · subjectivity · phenomenology · first-person · self-awareness
Danish existentialist theologian
- MarcelHeat-styled hair wave
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
- AbrahamFirst Hebrew patriarch
Quality of being real
- sincerityHonest, unfeigned genuineness
- self-deceptionConvincing yourself of falsehoods
- self-creationMaking oneself exist
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
Heidegger · inauthenticity · resoluteness · self-ownership · truthfulness · self-knowledge · honesty · congruence
Reason something exists
- significanceQuality of mattering
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- valueImportance or price
- creationMaking something exist
nihilism · void · search · logotherapy · self-definition · project · engagement · commitment
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
Camus · Beauvoir · Marcel · Merleau-Ponty · Dostoevsky · Kafka
meaninglessness
Lack of significance
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- absurdWildly illogical
futility · Kafkaesque · paradox · irrationality · pointlessness · alienation · dissonance · incongruity · revolt · suicide
responsibility
State of being answerable
- choiceAct of selecting
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- condemnationSevere disapproval expressed formally
burden · commitment · action · consequence · accountability · self-determination · agency · liberation · Sartre · project
angst
Deep unfocused worry
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
forlornness · abandonment · isolation · loneliness · crisis · melancholy · Kierkegaard · abyss · groundlessness · vertigo
being
Existing as something
- DaseinHuman existence as lived
- being-in-the-worldExistence as already situated
- temporalityState of existing briefly
finitude · mortality · anxiety · Heidegger · situated · embodiment · everydayness · care · concern
nothingness
Complete absence of existence
- negationDenial or cancellation
- intentionalityPurposeful action quality
- reflectionReturned light or thought
shame · other · transcendence · immanence · subjectivity · phenomenology · first-person · self-awareness
Kierkegaard
Danish existentialist theologian
- MarcelHeat-styled hair wave
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
genuineness
Quality of being real
- sincerityHonest, unfeigned genuineness
- self-deceptionConvincing yourself of falsehoods
- self-creationMaking oneself exist
integrity · Heidegger · inauthenticity · resoluteness · self-ownership · truthfulness · self-knowledge · honesty · congruence · masks
purpose
Reason something exists
- significanceQuality of mattering
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- valueImportance or price
creation · nihilism · void · search · logotherapy · self-definition · project · engagement · commitment · interpretation
- Modern PhilosophySartre, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Russell, Nietzsche
- French ThoughtDescartes, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida, Camus
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- abstract conceptsparadox, emotions, justice, truth, beauty
- European cultureFrench cuisine, Italian art, opera, ballet, Renaissance
- humanitiesphilosophy, history, literature, philosophy class, novels
existentialismdeterminism
Doctrine of causal necessity
fatalism · predestination · hard determinism · behaviorism · Calvinism
existentialismessentialism
Doctrine of fixed natures
Platonism · theism · Aristotelianism · teleology · objectivism
existentialismessentialism
Doctrine of fixed natures
Aristotelianism · rationalism · idealism · scholasticism · realism