The philosophers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche are considered fundamental to the existentialist movement, though neither used the term "existentialism". Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist They predated existentialism by a century.

Existentialism is a philosophical movement which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. A philosophical movement is either the appearance or increased popularity of a specific school of Philosophy, or a fairly broad but identifiable sea-change in philosophical thought

It emerged as a movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, though it had forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism generally postulates that the absence of a transcendent force means that the individual is entirely free, and, therefore, ultimately responsible. It is up to humans to create an ethos of personal responsibility for themselves, outside of any branded belief system. Ethos (ˈiːθɒs (grc ἦθος ἔθος plurals ethe (ἤθη ethea (ἤθεα is a Greek word originally meaning "accustomed In existentialist views, personal articulation of being is the only way to rise above humanity's absurd condition of much suffering and inevitable death.

Existentialism is a reaction against traditional philosophies, such as rationalism and empiricism, that seek to discover an ultimate order in metaphysical principles or in the structure of the observed world, and thereby seek to discover universal meaning. In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 In Philosophy, empiricism is a theory of Knowledge which asserts that knowledge arises from Experience. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science

As a movement, existentialism began with the nineteenth-century philosophers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist It became prevalent in Continental philosophy, and literary figures such as Fyodor Dostoevsky also contributed to the movement. Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, In the 1940s and 1950s, French existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir, wrote scholarly and fictional works that popularized existential themes such as "dread, boredom, alienation, the absurd, freedom, commitment, and nothingness". Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize "La Beauvoir" redirects here also see Beauvoir (disambiguation Angst is a German word for Fear or Anxiety. ( Anguish is its almost entirely synonymous Latinate equivalent Boredom is an Emotional state experienced during periods of lack of activities or when individuals are uninterested in the activities surrounding them In Sociology and Critical social theory, alienation refers to an individual's estrangement from traditional community and others in general Absurdism is a Philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the Universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd because no such Nothing is a concept that describes the lack or absence of anything at all ^[1] Walter Kaufmann described existentialism as "The refusal to belong to any school of thought, the repudiation of the adequacy of any body of beliefs whatever, and especially of systems, and a marked dissatisfaction with traditional philosophy as superficial, academic, and remote from life". Walter Arnold Kaufmann ( July 1, 1921 Freiburg Germany - September 4, 1980 Princeton New Jersey) was a German-American ^[2]

Although there are some common tendencies amongst "existentialist" thinkers, there are major differences and disagreements among them (most notably the divide between atheistic existentialists like Sartre and spiritual existentialists like Tillich); not all of them accept the validity of the term. ^[3]

Major concepts

A focus on existence

Existentialism tends to focus on the question of human existence — the feeling that there is no purpose, indeed nothing, at the core of existence. Finding a way to counter this nothingness, by embracing existence, is the fundamental theme of existentialism, and the root of the philosophy's name. Given that someone who believes in reality might be called a "realist", and someone who believes in a deity might be called a "deist", someone who believes fundamentally in existence and seeks to find meaning in his or her life solely by embracing existence, is an existentialist.

Existence precedes consciousness

Existentialism differentiates itself from the modern, Western-rationalist tradition of philosophers such as Descartes by rejecting the idea that the most certain and primary reality is consciousness. Descartes argues in his Meditations on First Philosophy that even though humans can doubt almost all aspects of reality as illusions, they can be certain of their own consciousness ("Cogito ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am"). Meditations on First Philosophy (subtitled In which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated) is a philosophical treatise written " la Cogito ergo sum " (I think therefore I am sometimes misquoted as la Dubito ergo cogito ergo sum (Latin "I doubt therefore I think therefore I am"

In opposition, existentialism asserts that a human is born into a concrete, inveterate universe that cannot be attributed to illusion. Or in other words, the ultimate and unquestionable reality is not consciousness, but existence ("being in the world", in the words of Heidegger). Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher This asserted precedence of existence vis-a-vis consciousness is a radicalization of the notion of intentionality (from Brentano and Husserl), which asserts that all consciousness is always a consciousness of something. The term intentionality is often simplistically summarised as "aboutness" Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (ˈhʊsɛrl April 8 1859 – April 26 1938) was a philosopher, known as the father of

Existence precedes essence

A central proposition of existentialism is that humans define their own meaning in life. Such a view might be phrased technically by philosophers as existence precedes essence; i. The proposition that existence precedes essence is a central claim of Existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the Essence or nature e. a human's existence conceptually precedes the essence or meaning that may be ascribed to the life. In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity

An older view was that essence precedes existence, so that "being human" might bind a person to such phrase's a priori definitions and connotations, and determining such meanings was seen as a central project of philosophy. This older view was widely accepted from ancient Greek philosophy to Hegel's philosophy, which would focus on questions like "what is a human being?" or "what is the human essence?", and use the answer to seek to derive how human beings should behave. Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of Reason and Inquiry.

Something like such two views -- ancient Greek and existential -- is also perceived in Persian and Arabic thought. Iranian philosophy or Persian philosophy can be traced back as far as to Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranian Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar "Essence precedes existence" can be seen in the work of Avicenna^[4] and in Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi's illuminationist philosophy. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Shahab al-Din Yahya as-Suhrawardi ( Persian شهاب الدين يحيى سهروردى, also known as Sohrevardi) was a Persian philosopher Sufi For other uses see Illuminati (disambiguation. Illuminationist Philosophy ( Arabic: حكمة الإشراق ḥikmah al-ishrāq, Persian ^[5] As a reaction, the newer, converse idea of "existence precedes essence" can be found implicitly in the work of Averroes^[4] and more explicitly in Mulla Sadra's transcendent theosophy. Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Sadr al-Din Moḥammad Shirazi also called Mulla Sadra ( also spelt Molla Sadra or Mollasadra or sadrol mote allehin; (c Transcendent theosophy or al-hikmat al-muta’li ( حكمت متعالي) the doctrine and Philosophy that has been developed and perfected by the ^[6][7]

Existence preceding essence is seen in Kierkegaard's Repetition, where his literary character Young Man laments:

How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) Repetition (Danish Gjentagelsen) is a book by the 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and published on October 16, 1843 Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?^[8]

Heidegger coined the term "thrownness" (also used by Sartre) to describe this idea that human beings are "thrown" into existence without having chosen it. Thrownness (German Geworfenheit) is a concept by Martin Heidegger used to describe the interactions with our surroundings in the everyday life that causes us to act Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French Existentialists consider being thrown into existence as prior to, and the horizon or context of, any other thoughts or ideas that humans have or definitions of themselves that they create.

Sartre, in Essays in Existentialism, further highlights this consciousness of being thrown into existence in the following fashion: "If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. "

Reason as a problematic defense against anxiety

Emphasizing action, freedom, and decision as fundamental, existentialists oppose themselves to rationalism and positivism. In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Positivism is the Philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience That is, they argue against definitions of human beings as primarily rational. Rather, existentialists look at where people find meaning. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.

The rejection of reason as the source of meaning is a common theme of existentialist thought, as is the focus on the feelings of anxiety and dread that we feel in the face of our own radical freedom and our awareness of death. Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components Angst is a German word for Fear or Anxiety. ( Anguish is its almost entirely synonymous Latinate equivalent Freedom, or the idea of being free is a broad concept that Kierkegaard saw rationality as a mechanism humans use to counter their existential anxiety, their fear of being in the world: "If I can believe that I am rational and everyone else is rational then I have nothing to fear and no reason to feel anxious about being free. Existential crisis, derived from Existentialism, is the psychologic panic and discomfort experienced when a human confronts questions of existence "

Like Kierkegaard, Sartre saw problems with rationality, calling it a form of "bad faith", an attempt by the self to impose structure on a world of phenomena — "the other" — that is fundamentally irrational and random. According to Sartre, rationality and other forms of bad faith hinder us from finding meaning in freedom. To try to suppress our feelings of anxiety and dread, we confine ourselves within everyday experience, Sartre asserts, thereby relinquishing our freedom and acquiescing to being possessed in one form or another by "the look" of "the other".

In a similar vein, Camus believed that society and religion falsely teach humans that "the other" has order and structure. ^[9] For Camus, when an individual's "consciousness", longing for order, collides with "the other's" lack of order, a third element is born: "absurdity".

The absurd

It then follows that existentialism tends to view human beings as subjects in an indifferent, objective, often ambiguous and "absurd" universe, in which meaning is not provided by the natural order, but rather can be created, however provisionally and unstably, by human beings' actions and interpretations. Absurdism is a Philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the Universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd because no such

During the literary modernist movement in the 1900s, authors began describing dystopian societies and surreal and absurd situations in a parallel universe, a trend that paralleled the existentialist movement. In Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis, a man awakes to the realization that he has turned into a creature known only as a "vermin". The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung is a Novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915

Arguably, the most extensive existentialist study of "the absurd" was done by Albert Camus in his classic essay The Myth of Sisyphus. Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus.

Perspectives on God

Some existentialists accept Nietzsche's proclamation that "God is dead"; they believe that the concept of God is obsolete. " God is dead " ( German:; also known as the death of God) is a widely-quoted and sometimes misconstrued statement by German philosopher

Some existentialists, like Kierkegaard, conceive the fundamental existentialist question as man's relationship to God.

Theological existentialism, as advocated by philosophers and theologians (including Paul Tillich, Gabriel Marcel, and Martin Buber), shares tenets and themes that are central to atheistic existentialism. Paul Johannes Tillich ( August 20, 1886 &ndash October 22, 1965) was a German - American theologian and Christian Gabriel Honoré Marcel ( 7 December 1889, Paris – 8 October 1973, Paris) was a French Philosopher Martin Buber ( 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian Israeli Jewish Philosopher, translator Just as atheistic existentialists can freely choose not to believe in God, theistic existentialists can freely choose to believe in God and, despite doubt, have faith that God exists. Belief in God is a personal choice made on the basis of a passion, faith, observation, or experience. Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in

A further type of existentialist is agnostic existentialists, who make no claim to know whether or not there is a "greater picture"; rather, they simply assert that the greatest truth is that which the individual chooses to act upon. They feel that to know the greater picture, whether there is one or not, is impossible, or impossible so far, or of little value. Like the Christian existentialists, the agnostic believes existence is subjective. Christian existentialism describes a group of writings that take a philosophically Existentialist approach to Christian theology

Sartrean existentialism

Some of the features associated with the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre include:

Existence precedes essence 

See earlier. Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French The proposition that existence precedes essence is a central claim of Existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the Essence or nature

Values are subjective 

Sartre accepts the premise that an individual's "facticity" (i. Facticity ( French: facticité, German: Faktizität) has a multiplicity of meanings from "factuality" and "contingency" to e. the properties of an object or person as traditionally conceived and experienced), or a component, is valuable because the individual chooses to value it. But Sartre denies that there are any objective standards on which to base values. (However, this should not be confused with post-modernism. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism ) Sartre clearly believed that systems of consciousness followed clear and solid rules.

Bad faith 

See earlier. Bad faith (from French mauvaise foi) is a philosophical concept first coined by Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre to describe the

The Gaze 

Sartre believed that beings possess the power to look at themselves and at another or an object, which is to use one's mind to look at the person in static. This concept of "looking" and the power to look are referred to as The Gaze. This destroys an object's subjectivity. The thing becomes a "thing in itself" (see Noumenon) or a non-subjective object. "Noumena" redirects here For the band see Noumena (band. Sartre stated that this form of consciousness was used quite often in inter-personal relationships. People place meaning onto what other people think of them rather than what they think of themselves. This process of radically re-aligning this meaning from The Gaze onto one's own being is what leads to periods of so-called "existential angst".

Being for others 

Sartre believed that a person "A" who cannot embrace their freedom to confront existential absurdity and define their life seeks in effect to be "looked at", that is, to be made an object of another's subjectivity. This creates a clash of freedoms whereby person A's being or sense of identity is controlled by person B's thoughts about person A.

Responsibility for choices 

The individual is condemned to be responsible for his free choices, regardless of the consequences, because the choices belonged to that individual alone.

Specialized vocabulary 

Being in-itself is an object that is not free and cannot change its essence.

Being for-itself is free; it does not need to be what it is and can change. Consciousness is usually considered being for-itself.

Non-positional consciousness is being merely conscious of one's surroundings.

Positional consciousness puts consciousness into relation of one's surroundings and entails an explicit awareness of being conscious of one's surroundings.

Identity is constructed by this explicit awareness of consciousness.

Historical background

The Søren Kierkegaard Statue in Copenhagen.

Generally

Existential themes have been hinted at throughout history. Examples include the Buddha's teachings, the Bible in the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job, Saint Augustine in his Confessions, Saint Thomas Aquinas' writings, and Mulla Sadra's writings. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Ecclesiastes (often abbreviated Ecc) (קֹהֶלֶת Kohelet, variously transliterated as Qoheleth, Göhalath, Koheles, Koheleth The Book of Job ( איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. Confessions ( Latin: Confessiones) is the name of an Autobiographical work consisting of 13 books by St Sadr al-Din Moḥammad Shirazi also called Mulla Sadra ( also spelt Molla Sadra or Mollasadra or sadrol mote allehin; (c Individualist political theories, such as those advanced by John Locke, advocated individual autonomy and self-determination rather than state rule over the individual. John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. This kind of political philosophy, although not existential per se, provided a welcoming climate for existentialism.

In 1670, Blaise Pascal's unfinished notes were published under the title of Pensées ("Thoughts"). Blaise Pascal (blɛz paskal (June 19 1623 &ndash August 19 1662 was a French Mathematician, Physicist, and religious Philosopher The Pensées (literally "thoughts" represented a defense of the Christian religion by Blaise Pascal, the renowned 17th century philosopher He described many fundamental themes common to what would be known as existentialism two and three centuries later. Pascal argued that without a God, life would be meaningless and miserable. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. People would only be able to create obstacles and overcome them in an attempt to escape boredom. These token-victories would ultimately become meaningless, since people would eventually die. This was good enough reason not to choose to become an atheist, according to Pascal. Atheism

Existentialism, in its currently recognizable 20th century form, was inspired by Søren Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky and the German philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (ˈhʊsɛrl April 8 1859 – April 26 1938) was a philosopher, known as the father of Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher It became popular in the mid-20th century through the works of the French writer-philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, whose versions of it were set out in a popular form in Sartre's 1946 Existentialism is a Humanism and Beauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity. Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French "La Beauvoir" redirects here also see Beauvoir (disambiguation Existentialism is a Humanism ( L'existentialisme est un humanisme) is a 1946 philosophical work by Jean-Paul Sartre. The Ethics of Ambiguity (French title Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté) is Simone de Beauvoir 's second major essay nearly twice as long as

Gabriel Marcel pursued theological versions of existentialism, most notably Christian existentialism. Gabriel Honoré Marcel ( 7 December 1889, Paris – 8 October 1973, Paris) was a French Philosopher Christian existentialism describes a group of writings that take a philosophically Existentialist approach to Christian theology Other theological existentialists include Paul Tillich, Rudolf Bultmann, Miguel de Unamuno, Thomas Hora and Martin Buber. Paul Johannes Tillich ( August 20, 1886 &ndash October 22, 1965) was a German - American theologian and Christian Rudolf Karl Bultmann ( August 20, 1884 – July 30, 1976) was a German theologian of Lutheran background who Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo ( September 29, 1864 &ndash December 31, 1936) was an Essayist Novelist poet, playwright Thomas Hora (January 25 1914 - October 30 1995 is considered the founder of the discipline of metapsychiatry an attempt to integrate principles from Metaphysics, Spirituality Martin Buber ( 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian Israeli Jewish Philosopher, translator Moreover, one-time Marxist Nikolai Berdyaev developed a philosophy of Christian existentialism in his native Russia, and later in France, in the decades preceding World War II. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев ( &ndash March 24 1948) was a Russian religious and political World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Arthur Schopenhauer are also important influences on the development of existentialism (although not precursors), because the philosophies of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were written in response or opposition to Hegel and Schopenhauer, respectively.

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche

Main article: Kierkegaard and Nietzsche comparisons

The first philosophers considered fundamental to the existentialist movement were Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, though neither used the term "existentialism" and it is unclear whether they would have supported the existentialism of the 20th century. Most researchers believe that Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900 knew little of the 19th century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855 Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist Their focus was on human experience, rather than the objective truths of math and science that are too detached or observational to truly get at human experience. Like Pascal, they were interested in people's concealment of the meaninglessness of life and the use of diversion to escape from boredom. But Pascal did not consider the role of making free choices, particularly regarding fundamental values and beliefs: such choices change the nature and identity of the chooser, in the view of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. ^[10][11] Kierkegaard's knight of faith and Nietzsche's Übermensch are examples of those who define the nature of their own existence. The knight of faith is an individual who has placed complete Faith in himself and in God The Übermensch ( German; English: Overman, Superman) is a Concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Great individuals invent their own values and create the very terms under which they excel.

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were also precursors to other intellectual movements, including postmodernism, nihilism, and various strands of psychology. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Nihilism (from the Latin nihil, nothing is a philosophical position that argues that Existence is without objective meaning Purpose Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and

Heidegger and the German existentialists

Main article: Existential phenomenology

One of the first German existentialists was Karl Jaspers, who recognized the importance of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and attempted to build an "Existenz" philosophy around the two. Existential phenomenology is a philosophical current inspired by Martin Heidegger 's work Sein und Zeit (1927 Karl Theodor Jaspers ( February 23, 1883 – February 26, 1969) was a German Psychiatrist and Philosopher who Heidegger, who was influenced by Jaspers and the phenomenologist Edmund Husserl, wrote his most influential work Being and Time which postulates Dasein (dah-zine), translated as, all at once, "being here", "being there", and "being-in-the-world"—a being that is constituted by its temporality, illuminates and interprets the meaning of being in time. Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (ˈhʊsɛrl April 8 1859 – April 26 1938) was a philosopher, known as the father of Being and Time ( German: Sein und Zeit, 1927) is a book by German philosopher Martin Heidegger. Dasein is sometimes considered the human subject, but Heidegger denied the Cartesian dualism of subject-object/mind-body. [paragraph needs citations and clarifications]

Although existentialists view Heidegger to be an important philosopher in the movement, he vehemently denied being an existentialist in the Sartrean sense, in his "Letter on Humanism".

Sartre, Camus, and the French existentialists

Jean-Paul Sartre is perhaps the most well-known existentialist and is one of the few to have accepted being called an "existentialist". Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French Sartre developed his version of existentialist philosophy under the influence of Husserl and Heidegger. Being and Nothingness is perhaps his most important work about existentialism. Being and Nothingness An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology ( French: L'Être et le néant: Essai d'ontologie phénoménologique) sometimes subtitled Sartre was also talented in his ability to espouse his ideas in different media, including philosophical essays, lectures, novels, plays, and the theater. No Exit and Nausea are two of his celebrated works. No Exit is a 1944 existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, originally published in French as Huis Clos Nausea (orig French La Nausée) is a novel by the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, published in 1938 and written In the 1960s, he attempted to reconcile existentialism and Marxism in his work Critique of Dialectical Reason. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Critique of Dialectical Reason, originally Critique de la raison dialectique ( 1960) was the last of Sartre 's major philosophical

Albert Camus was a friend of Sartre, until their falling-out, and wrote several works with existential themes including The Rebel, The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, and Summer in Algiers. Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French The Stranger, or The Outsider, (from the French L’Étranger, 1942 is a Novel by Albert Camus The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. Camus, like many others, rejected the existentialist label, and considered his works to be concerned with man facing the absurd. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus uses the analogy of the Greek myth to demonstrate the futility of existence. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus ( Greek: Σίσυφος, Latinized: Sisyphus (ˈsɪsɨfəs was a King punished in In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned for eternity to roll a rock up a hill, but when he reaches the summit, the rock will roll to the bottom again. Camus believes that this existence is pointless but that Sisyphus ultimately finds meaning and purpose in his task, simply by continually applying himself to it.

Critic Martin Esslin in his book Theatre of the Absurd pointed out how many contemporary playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, and Arthur Adamov wove into their plays the existential belief that man is an absurd creature loose in a universe empty of real meaning. Martin Julius Esslin ( June 6, 1918 &ndash February 24, 2002) was a Hungarian -born English producer and script Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989 was an Irish Writer, Dramatist and poet Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu ( November 26, 1909 – March 28, 1994 Jean Genet (ʒɑ̃ ʒəˈnɛ in French ( –) was a prominent controversial French writer and later political activist. Arthur Adamov ( 23 August 1908 – 15 March 1970) was a Playwright, one of the foremost exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd Esslin noted that many of these playwrights demonstrated the philosophy better than did the plays by Sartre and Camus. Though most of such playwrights, subsequently labeled "Absurdist" (based on Esslin's book), denied affiliations with existentialism and were often staunchly anti-philosophical (for example Ionesco often claimed he identified more with 'Pataphysics or with Surrealism than with existentialism), the playwrights are often linked to existentialism based on Esslin's observation. 'Pataphysics ( French: 'Pataphysique) a term coined by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873 – 1907 is a Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members ^[12]

Simone de Beauvoir, an important existentialist who spent much of her life alongside Sartre, wrote about feminist and existential ethics in her works, including The Second Sex and The Ethics of Ambiguity. "La Beauvoir" redirects here also see Beauvoir (disambiguation The Second Sex ( French: Le Deuxième Sexe, June 1949 is one of the best known works of the French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir The Ethics of Ambiguity (French title Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté) is Simone de Beauvoir 's second major essay nearly twice as long as Although often overlooked due to her relationship with Sartre, de Beauvoir integrated existentialism with other forms of thinking such as feminism, unheard of at the time, resulting in alienation from fellow writers such as Camus.

Frantz Fanon, a Martiniquan-born critic of colonialism, has been considered an important existentialist. Frantz Fanon ( July 20, 1925 – December 6, 1961) was a Psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and author from See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism ^[13]

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, an often overlooked existentialist, was for a time a companion of Sartre. Maurice Merleau-Ponty (mɔʁis mɛʁlopɔ̃ti in French March 14, 1908 – May 3, 1961) was a French phenomenological His understanding of Husserl's phenomenology was far greater than that of Merleau-Ponty's fellow existentialists. Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (ˈhʊsɛrl April 8 1859 – April 26 1938) was a philosopher, known as the father of It has been said that his work, Humanism and Terror, greatly influenced Sartre. However, in later years they were to disagree irreparably, dividing many existentialists such as de Beauvoir, who sided with Sartre. Michel Foucault would also be considered an existentialist through his use of history to reveal the constant alterations of created meaning, thus proving history's failure to produce a cohesive version of reality. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist.

Dostoevsky, Kafka, and the literary existentialists

Many writers who are not usually considered philosophers have also had a major influence on existentialism. Among them, Czech author Franz Kafka and Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky are most prominent. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, Kafka created often surreal and alienated characters who struggle with hopelessness and absurdity, notably in his most famous novella, The Metamorphosis, or in his master novel, The Trial. The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung is a Novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915 The Trial ( Der Process) is a novel by Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground details the story of a man who is unable to fit into society and unhappy with the identities he creates for himself. Notes from Underground (Записки из подполья Zapíski iz podpól'ja, also translated in English as Notes from the Underground

Many of Dostoevsky's novels, such as Crime and Punishment, covered issues pertinent to existential philosophy while offering story lines divergent from secular existentialism: for example in Crime and Punishment one sees the protagonist, Raskolnikov, experience existential crises and move toward a worldview similar to Christian Existentialism, which Dostoevsky had come to advocate. Crime and Punishment (Преступление и наказание is a Novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky that Christian existentialism describes a group of writings that take a philosophically Existentialist approach to Christian theology

In the 20th century, existentialism experienced a resurgence in popular art forms. In fiction, Hermann Hesse's 1928 novel Steppenwolf, based on an idea in Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843), sold well in the West. Hermann Hesse (ˈhɛʀman ˈhɛsə ( 2 July, 1877 — 9 August, 1962) was a German - Swiss poet novelist and painter Der Steppenwolf is the tenth Novel by German - Swiss author Hermann Hesse. Jack Kerouac and the Beat poets adopted existentialist themes. Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and "Arthouse" films began quoting and alluding to existentialist thought and thinkers. An Art film (also called an “art cinema” “art movie” or in the U

Existentialist novelists were generally seen as a mid-1950s phenomenon that continued until the mid- to late 1970s. Most of the major writers were either French or from French African colonies. Small circles of other Europeans were seen as literary precursors by the existentialists, but literary history increasingly has questioned the accuracy of this perception.

Criticism

Herbert Marcuse criticized existentialism, especially in Sartre's Being and Nothingness, for projecting some features of living in a modern, oppressive society, such as anxiety and meaninglessness, onto the nature of existence itself: "Insofar as Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine, it remains an idealistic doctrine: it hypothesizes specific historical conditions of human existence into ontological and metaphysical characteristics. Herbert Marcuse ( July 19, 1898 &ndash July 29, 1979) was a German philosopher and sociologist, and a member of Being and Nothingness An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology ( French: L'Être et le néant: Essai d'ontologie phénoménologique) sometimes subtitled Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory". ^[14] Sartre had already responded to some points of the Marxist criticisms of existentialism in his popular lecture Existentialism is a humanism,^[15] held in 1946.

Theodor Adorno, in his Jargon of Authenticity, criticized Heidegger's philosophy, with special attention to Heidegger's use of language, as a mystifying ideology of advanced industrial society and its power structure. Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund Adorno ( September 11, 1903 &ndash August 6, 1969) was a German -born international sociologist

Heidegger criticized Sartre's existentialism, in Heidegger's Letter on Humanism:

Existentialism says [that] existence precedes essence. Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher In this statement he [Sartre] is taking existentia and essentia according to their metaphysical meaning, which from Plato's time on has said that essentia precedes existentia. Sartre reverses this statement. But the reversal of a metaphysical statement remains a metaphysical statement. With it he stays with metaphysics in oblivion of the truth of Being.

Roger Scruton claimed, in his book From Descartes to Wittgenstein, that both Heidegger's concept of inauthenticity and Sartre's concept of bad faith were self-inconsistent; both deny any universal moral creed, yet speak of these concepts as if everyone is bound to abide by them. Roger Vernon Scruton (born 27 February 1944) is an English Conservative Philosopher. Authenticity is a technical term in existentialist philosophy, and is also used in the Philosophy of art and Psychology. Bad faith (from French mauvaise foi) is a philosophical concept first coined by Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre to describe the In chapter 18, he writes, "In what sense Sartre is able to 'recommend' the authenticity which consists in the purely self-made morality is unclear. He does recommend it, but, by his own argument, his recommendation can have no objective force. "

Logical positivists, such as Carnap and Ayer, claim that existentialists frequently become confused over the verb "to be" in their analyses of "being". Logical positivism (later and more accurately called logical empiricism) is a school of philosophy that combines Empiricism, the idea that observational evidence is Rudolf Carnap ( May 18, 1891 &ndash September 14, 1970) was an influential German -born philosopher who was active in Sir Alfred Jules ("Freddie" Ayer ( October 29, 1910 &ndash June 27, 1989) better known as A ^[16] The verb is prefixed to a predicate and to use the word without any predicate is meaningless. In traditional Grammar, a predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies Another claimed source of confusion in the existentialist metaphysical literature is that existentialists try to understand the meaning of the word "nothing" (the negation of existence) by assuming that it must refer to something. Borrowing Kant's argument^[17] against the ontological argument for the existence of God, the logical positivists argue that existence is not a property. Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg An Ontological argument for the existence of God attempts the method of a priori proof, which uses intuition and reason alone

Influence outside philosophy

Cultural movement and influence

The term existentialism was first adopted as a self-reference in the 1940s and 1950s by Jean-Paul Sartre, and the widespread use of literature as a means of disseminating their ideas by Sartre and his associates (notably novelist Albert Camus) meant existentialism "was as much a literary phenomenon as a philosophical one. "^[1] Among existentialist writers were Parisians Jean Genet, André Gide, André Malraux, and playwright Samuel Beckett, the Norwegian Knut Hamsun, and the Romanian friends Eugene Ionesco and Emil Cioran. Jean Genet (ʒɑ̃ ʒəˈnɛ in French ( –) was a prominent controversial French writer and later political activist. André Malraux (3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976 was a French Author, adventurer and Statesman, and a dominant figure in French politics and culture Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989 was an Irish Writer, Dramatist and poet Knut Hamsun, born Knud Pedersen ( August 4, 1859 - February 19, 1952) was a Norwegian author. Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu ( November 26, 1909 – March 28, 1994 Emil Cioran ( April 8 1911 – June 20 1995) was a Romanian Philosopher and Essayist. Prominent artists such as the Abstract Expressionists Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and Willem de Kooning have been understood in existentialist terms, as have filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and Ingmar Bergman. Abstract expressionism was an American post– World War II Art movement. Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28 1912 &ndash August 11 1956 was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement Arshile Gorky (real name - Vostanik Manoog Adoyan; Արշիլ Գորկի Վոստանիկ Մանուկի Ադոյան ( April 15, 1904 ? – July Willem de Kooning (April 24 1904 – March 19 1997 was an Abstract expressionist painter born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Jean-Luc Godard (French ʒɑ̃lyk gɔˈdaʀ (born on December 3 1930 is a French and Swiss Filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague Ernst Ingmar Bergman ( pronounced) (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007 was a nine-time Academy Award -nominated Swedish film, stage ^[1] Individual films such as the 1952 western High Noon and Fight Club (1999) have also been cited as existentialist. High Noon is a 1952 Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. Fight Club is a 1999 American feature film adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, adapted by ^[18][19] Also, existential theological influence is apparent in the Angel's Egg. is a Japanese Anime feature film produced by Tokuma Shoten in 1985.

Literature

Since 1970, much cultural activity in art, cinema, and literature contains postmodernist and existential elements. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Books such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) (now republished as Blade Runner) by Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968 by Philip K Dick, is a Science fiction Novel about Rick Deckard, a Bounty hunter Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott. Dick, Toilet: The Novel by Michael Szymczyk and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk all distort the line between reality and appearance while simultaneously espousing strong existential themes. Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk, chronicling the experiences of an anonymous Protagonist who is struggling with a growing discomfort Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (ˈpɑːlənɪk born February 21 1962) is an American Transgressional fiction Novelist Ideas from such thinkers as Dostoevsky, Foucault, Kafka, Nietzsche, Herbert Marcuse, Gilles Deleuze, and Eduard von Hartmann permeate the works of artists such as Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Szymczyk, David Lynch, Crispin Glover, and Charles Bukowski, and one often finds in their works a delicate balance between distastefulness and beauty. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist Herbert Marcuse ( July 19, 1898 &ndash July 29, 1979) was a German philosopher and sociologist, and a member of Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann ( February 23, 1842 &ndash June 5, 1906) was a German Philosopher.

Film

Existential themes have been evident throughout 20th century cinema. Many films portray characters going through the "existential dilemma" or existential problems. Just as there is much controversy about the definition of existentialism, there is a fine line between existential and non-existential films. One might ask how certain movies can be considered existential, while others are not, and the judgment is purely subjective. However, for the sake of discussion, it is beneficial to provide a clear definition of existential movies. The most accurate definition says that existential movies are those which have strong plots that deal with subjects such as dread, boredom, nothingness, anxiety, alienation and the absurd. Boredom is an Emotional state experienced during periods of lack of activities or when individuals are uninterested in the activities surrounding them Nothing is a concept that describes the lack or absence of anything at all Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components Furthermore, the definition states that movies which deal with the themes of existential literature seriously are also considered as being existential. ^[20]

Some contemporary films dealing with existential issues include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Fight Club, I Heart Huckabees, Garden State, What the Bleep Do We Know!?, Waking Life, Hollywood Ending, Off The Map, Donnie Darko, Crash, Broken Flowers, The United States of Leland, Ordinary People, and The Matrix trilogy^[21]. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a 2007 Western Drama film adapted from Ron Hansen 's 1983 novel Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk, chronicling the experiences of an anonymous Protagonist who is struggling with a growing discomfort I Heart Huckabees, also known as I Love Huckabees, and written as I ♥ Huckabees, is a 2004 Comedy film What the Bleep Do We Know!? (also written What tнe #$*! Dө ωΣ (kπow!? and What the #$*! Do We Know!?) is a 2004 film which Waking Life is a digitally enhanced live action rotoscoped film directed by Richard Linklater and made in 2001. Hollywood Ending is a film written and directed by Woody Allen. Off the Map is a 2003 Drama film directed by Campbell Scott. The play and screenplay were written by Joan Ackermann Donnie Darko is a 2001 cult classic Psychological thriller Film written and directed by Richard Kelly, and starring Broken Flowers is a 2005 Comedy-drama Film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith The United States of Leland is a 2003 dramatic movie by director Matthew Ryan Hoge and producer Kevin Spacey about a meek teenaged Ordinary People is a 1980 American Motion picture drama and the directorial debut of Robert Redford. The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction - martial arts - Action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and Likewise, films throughout the 20th century such as Taxi Driver, High Noon, Cool Hand Luke, Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Life Is Beautiful, The Graduate, A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, The Seventh Seal, American Beauty, Solaris, and Blade Runner also have existential qualities. Taxi Driver is a film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. High Noon is a 1952 Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American Drama film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Easy Rider, a 1969 American Road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 Comedy-drama film directed by Miloš Forman. Life Is Beautiful (Italian La vita è bella) is a 1997 Italian language film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian The Graduate is a American comedy / drama / Romance film directed by Mike Nichols, based on the novel of the same name by A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 Satirical Science fiction Film adaptation of a 1962 novel of the same name, by Anthony For the Biblical concept see Seven seals. For the Rakim album see The Seventh Seal (Rakim album. American Beauty is a 1999 Drama film set in modern American Suburbia. Solaris is a 2002 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott. ^[22] Notable directors known for their existentialist films include Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Michelangelo Antonioni, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Woody Allen. Ernst Ingmar Bergman ( pronounced) (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007 was a nine-time Academy Award -nominated Swedish film, stage François Roland Truffaut ( February 6 1932 – October 21 1984) was one of the founders of the French New Wave in filmmaking Jean-Luc Godard (French ʒɑ̃lyk gɔˈdaʀ (born on December 3 1930 is a French and Swiss Filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI ( September 29 1912 &ndash July 30 2007) was an Italian Modernist Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (Андре́й Арсе́ньевич Тарко́вский (April 4 1932 - December 29 1986 was a Soviet Film director, writer and opera director Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; December 1 1935 is an American Film director, Writer, Actor, Comedian, and ^[23]

Theatre

The play Huis Clos was written by Sartre. No Exit is a 1944 existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, originally published in French as Huis Clos Existentialist themes have also influenced the Theatre of the Absurd, notably Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. The Theatre of the Absurd ( French: Théâtre de l'Absurde) is a designation for particular plays written by a number of primarily European Playwrights Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989 was an Irish Writer, Dramatist and poet Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters wait for someone named Godot who never arrives Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE (born 3 July 1937 is a British Screenwriter playwright Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existentialist Tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Jean Anouilh's Antigone also presents arguments founded on existentialist ideas. Jean Anouilh 's play Antigone is a Tragedy inspired by Greek mythology and the play of the same name ( Antigone, ^[24]

Theology

Main article: Christian existentialism

Existentialism has had a significant influence on theology, notably on postmodern Christianity and on theologians and religious thinkers such as Nikolai Berdyaev, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, and John Macquarrie. Christian existentialism describes a group of writings that take a philosophically Existentialist approach to Christian theology Postmodern Christianity is an outlook of Christianity that is closely associated with the body of writings known as Postmodern philosophy. Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (Николай Александрович Бердяев ( &ndash March 24 1948) was a Russian religious and political Karl Barth ( May 10, 1886 &ndash December 10, 1968) (pronounced "bart" a Swiss Reformed theologian was one Paul Johannes Tillich ( August 20, 1886 &ndash October 22, 1965) was a German - American theologian and Christian John Macquarrie FBA TD ( June 27, 1919 &ndash May 28, 2007) was a Scottish-born theologian and philosopher It has also surfaced in theologically-themed media, such as the Angel's Egg. is a Japanese Anime feature film produced by Tokuma Shoten in 1985.

Existential psychoanalysis and psychotherapy

Main article: Existential therapy

One of the major offshoots of existentialism as a philosophy is existential psychology and psychoanalysis, which first crystallized in the work of Ludwig Binswanger, a clinician who was influenced by both Freud and Heidegger, and Sartre, who was not a clinician but wrote theoretical material about existential psychoanalysis. Existential psychotherapy is partly based on the Existential belief that human beings are alone in the world Ludwig Binswanger ( April 13, 1881 &ndash February 5, 1966) was a Swiss Psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French A later figure was Viktor Frankl, who had studied with Freud and Jung as a young man. Viktor Emil Frankl MD, PhD, ( March 26, 1905 - September 2, 1997) was an Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded His logotherapy can be regarded as a form of existential therapy. Logotherapy was developed by Neurologist and Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. An early contributor to existential psychology in the United States was Rollo May, who was influenced by Kierkegaard. Rollo May ( April 21, 1909 – October 22, 1994) was an American existential psychologist. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) One of the most prolific writers on techniques and theory of existential psychology in the USA is Irvin D. Yalom. Irvin David Yalom (b June 13th 1931 in Washington DC MD is an author of fiction and nonfiction Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, The person who has contributed most to the development of a European version of existential psychotherapy is the British-based Emmy van Deurzen. Emmy van Deurzen is an Existential therapist in the United Kingdom.

With complete freedom to decide, and complete responsibility for the outcome of decisions, comes anxiety (angst). Anxiety's importance in existentialism makes it a popular topic in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is an Interpersonal, relational intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid clients in problems of living Therapists often use existential philosophy to explain the patient's anxiety. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Psychotherapists using an existential approach believe that a patient can harness his anxiety and use it constructively. Instead of suppressing anxiety, patients are advised to use it as grounds for change. By embracing anxiety as inevitable, a person can use it to achieve his or her full potential in life. Humanistic psychology also had major impetus from existential psychology and shares many of the fundamental tenets. Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis.

Terror management theory is a developing area of study within the academic study of psychology. Terror management theory (TMT is a developing area of study within the academic study of Psychology. It looks at what researchers claim to be the implicit emotional reactions of people that occur when they are confronted with the knowledge they will eventually die.

See also

Notes

References

• Razavi, Mehdi Amin (1997), Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination, Routledge, ISBN 0700704124

Further reading

• Appignanesi, Richard; and Oscar Zarate (2001). Routledge is a publisher of non-fiction academic books and journals Oscar Zarate (born 1942 is an Argentine Comic book artist and Illustrator. Introducing Existentialism. Cambridge, UK: Icon. ISBN 1-84046-266-3.  
• Cooper, David E. (1999). Existentialism: A Reconstruction, 2nd ed. , Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21322-8.  
• Luper, Steven (ed. ) (2000). Existing: An Introduction to Existential Thought. Mountain View, Calif. : Mayfield. ISBN 0-7674-0587-0.  
• Marino, Gordon (ed. ) (2004). Basic Writings of Existentialism. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-375-75989-1.  
• Szymczyk, Michael (2004). Toilet: The Novel. Bloomington: Authorhouse (USA). ISBN 978-1418423865.  
• Solomon, Robert C. (ed.) (2005). Robert C Solomon ( September 14, 1942 &ndash January 2, 2007) was a professor of Continental philosophy at the University of Existentialism, 2nd ed. , New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517463-1.  
• Appignanesi, Richard (2006). Introducing Existentialism, 3nd ed. , Thriplow, Cambridge: Icon Books (UK), Totem Books (USA). ISBN 1-84046-717-7.  
• Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness.  
• Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism and Humanism.  

External links

Introductions

• Friesian interpretation of Existentialism
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Existentialism
• "Existentialism is a Humanism", a lecture given by Jean-Paul Sartre
• The Existential Primer

Journals and articles

• The Logic of Existential Meaning by Mathew Toll
• Stirrings Still: The International Journal of Existential Literature

Existential psychotherapy

• An Introduction to Existential Counselling
• International Society for Existential Therapy
• HPSY.RU — Existential & humanistic psychology History of existentially-humanistic psychology's development in formerly Soviet nations