existentialist
Absurdity-embracing thinker
An existentialist is someone who subscribes to existentialism—the philosophical view that human existence precedes essence, meaning we define ourselves through choices rather than being born with predetermined purpose.
The term can describe philosophers like Sartre and Camus, or anyone preoccupied with questions of meaning, freedom, and authentic living: She took an existentialist approach to her career crisis.
As an adjective, it describes ideas or works exploring these themes: an existentialist novel.
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
Marcel · Merleau-Ponty · phenomenology · ontology · being-in-the-world · transcendence · nothingness · subjectivity
Wildly illogical quality
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
- acceptanceConsent to receive
confrontation · irrationality · futility · paradox · incongruity · rebellion · lucidity · embrace
Lack of significance
- nothingnessComplete absence of existence
- voidWithout legal effect
- negationDenial or cancellation
- groundlessnessAbsence of valid basis
will-to-power · revaluation · abyss · despair · disenchantment
Persistent apprehensive distress
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- despairTotal absence of hope
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
- alienationState of being isolated
ennui · malaise · forlornness · abandonment · vertigo · disquiet · groundlessness · uncanny
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- agencyPower to act
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- choiceAct of selecting
responsibility · liberation · self-creation · possibility · commitment · decision · volition · consequence
Individual identity, personhood
- individualityUnique personal character
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-realizationAchieving personal potential
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
identity · self-expression · sincerity · self-awareness · self-actualization · originality · congruence · becoming
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
Nietzsche · Marcel · Merleau-Ponty · phenomenology · ontology · being-in-the-world · transcendence · nothingness · subjectivity · intentionality
absurdity
Wildly illogical quality
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
acceptance · confrontation · irrationality · futility · paradox · incongruity · rebellion · lucidity · embrace · defiance
meaninglessness
Lack of significance
- nothingnessComplete absence of existence
- voidWithout legal effect
- negationDenial or cancellation
groundlessness · will-to-power · revaluation · abyss · despair · disenchantment
anxiety
Persistent apprehensive distress
alienation · ennui · malaise · forlornness · abandonment · vertigo · disquiet · groundlessness · uncanny · solitude
free-will
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- agencyPower to act
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
choice · responsibility · liberation · self-creation · possibility · commitment · decision · volition · consequence · deliberation
selfhood
Individual identity, personhood
- individualityUnique personal character
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-realizationAchieving personal potential
integrity · identity · self-expression · sincerity · self-awareness · self-actualization · originality · congruence · becoming · self-creation
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- philosophy worldethicist, logician, metaphysician, epistemologist, aesthetician
- art movementsPop Art, pop art, Impressionism, impressionism, Surrealism
- nonbelieversatheist, atheists, agnostic, agnostics, nonbeliever
- theoristspolitical theorist, game theorist, music theorist, conspiracy theorist
- contrarianscontrarian, dissenter, naysayer, skeptic, doubter
existentialistessentialist
Believer in fixed natures
Platonist · rationalist · Hegelian · absolutist · scholastic
existentialistnihilist
One denying inherent meaning
absurdist · traditionalist · dogmatist · conformist · collectivist