School of thought

Existentialism

Movement

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Classification

Period
c. 1840-1980 CE
Regions
europe
Domains
Ethics , Philosophy of Mind

Overview

Existentialism names a varied movement whose figures begin from concrete, situated existence rather than a detached theory of human beings as fixed substances. Across deep disagreements about religion, ethics, and the scope of freedom, they examine self-making, responsibility, anxiety, finitude, and the problem of living authentically. Sartre, in particular, formulated "existence precedes essence," described human freedom in radical terms, and analyzed self-deception as bad faith.

Key ideas

  • Sartre on Existence and Freedom: Sartre argued that people are not born with a predetermined essence and must define themselves through choices made within the limits of their situation. His language of radical freedom does not erase embodiment, history, or other features of facticity.
  • Sartrean Bad Faith: Sartre used this term for self-deception that denies either freedom or the facts and limits of one's situation, as when a person treats a social role as a complete and fixed identity.
  • Authenticity: Existentialists used different accounts of authenticity, but commonly opposed passive conformity and asked how a person can own a situated life in the face of anxiety, mortality, and responsibility.

Key figures

Soren Kierkegaard · Jean-Paul Sartre · Simone de Beauvoir · Martin Heidegger · Karl Jaspers

Positions held

Influenced by

Reacts to

Later connections

  • Feminist Philosophy Influenced by this tradition
  • Kyoto School Influenced by this tradition
  • Absurdism Reacted to this tradition

    Camus rejected the existentialist label and refused Sartre's leap toward self-created meaning as a new foundation, insisting the absurd be kept alive rather than resolved.

References