Existentialism

Existentialism is a way of thinking that focuses on what it means for people to exist. It is a philosophical movement. It became well known in books and movies of the 19th and 20th centuries.^[1] Existentialism is known for dealing with nihilistic problems, but is generally still a kind of anti-nihilism.^[2] It says that humans have will and consciousness, but they live in a world that does not. The premise that people must make choices about their life while knowing they are mortal is what existentialism is all about.^[3]

It was started by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855).^[3] Kierkegaard was a very religious man, but existentialism in the 20th century became more and more atheistic.^[3] Most of its main thinkers and writers were in mainland Europe. For example, Jean-Paul Sartre spent most of the Second World War in a German prison camp, reading the philosophy of Martin Heidegger.^[4] When he came out he gave a lecture called Existentialism and Humanism. This early lecture may be easier to read than his later work.^[5]

Many religions and philosophies (ways of thinking about the world) say that human life has a meaning (or a purpose). But people who believe in existentialism think that the world and human life have no meaning unless people give them meaning: ‘existence precedes [is before] essence’. This means that we find ourselves existing in the world, and then we give ourselves meaning, or 'essence'. As Sartre said, "We are condemned to be free".^[4] This means that we have no choice but to choose, and that we have full responsibility for our choices. Another way to put it is that we are always making choices even if we don't realize it.

Existentialists believe that our human 'essence' or 'nature' (way of being in the world) is simply our 'existence' (being in the world). More simply put, the 'essence' of a human, or what makes a human a 'human', is not due to nature or uncontrollable circumstances; rather, human essence is really just what we choose to make it. This means that the only nature we as humans have is the nature we make for ourselves. As a result of this, existentialists think that the actions or choices that a person makes are very important. They believe that every person has to decide for themselves what is right and wrong, and what is good and bad.

People who believe in existentialism ask questions like ’what is it like to be a human (a person) in the world?’ and ’how can we understand human freedom (what it means for a person to be free)?’ Existentialism is often connected with negative emotions, such as anxiety (worrying), dread (a very strong fear), and mortality (awareness of our own death). Some existentialists, like Sartre and Heidegger, think that thinking about these emotions helps people to choose the way that they want to live their lives.

Existentialism is sometimes confused with nihilism. It is different from nihilism, but there is a similarity. Nihilists believe that human life does not have a meaning (or a purpose) at all; existentialism says that people must choose their own purpose.

1. ↑ Abbagnano, Nicola (October 20, 2020). "Existentialism". Encyclopædia Britannica.
2. ↑ Pratt, Alan. "Nihilism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Bullock, Alan & Trombley, Stephen 1999. The new Fontana dictionary of modern thought. 3rd ed, Fontana, London. p297/8 ISBN 0-00-255871-8
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Stevenson, Leslie & Haberman, David L. Ten theories of human nature. Oxford University Press, chapter 9: Sartre: radical freedom. ISBN 978-0-19-536825-3
5. ↑ Sartre, Jean-Paul 1974. Existentialism and humanism. Methuen, London. ISBN 0-413-31300-X