existential - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about existential Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,525,519,159 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

existentialism
(redirected from existential)

    Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.

existentialism

Branch of philosophy based on the situation of the individual in an absurd or meaningless universe where humans have free will. Existentialists argue that people are responsible for and the sole judge of their actions as they affect others. The origin of existentialism is usually traced back to the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard; among its proponents were Martin Heidegger in Germany and Jean-Paul Sartre in France.

All self-aware individuals can grasp or intuit their own existence and freedom, and individuals must not allow their choices to be constrained by anything – not even reason or morality. This freedom to choose leads to the notion of nonbeing, or nothingness, which can provoke angst or dread.

Existentialism has many variants. Kierkegaard emphasized the importance of pure choice in ethics and Christian belief; Sartre tried to combine existentialism with Marxism.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
The titular question refers not to ideas about evolution, species differentiation, or the division of the world's human population into fallacious categories but rather to the more typical existential dilemma of the preschooler wondering What It's All About: "Is the race like a loop / or an obstacle course?
Jamie Lee Curtis Is There Really a Human Race? by Sutton, Roger / The Horn Book Magazine
Wednesday: There's an existential void in the universe .
Monday game by Russell, Joel / Los Angeles Business Journal
Middle-aged day-trader Richard Novak is detached and alone and having an existential crisis.
Homes, A.M. This book will save your life by Ammon, Bette / Kliatt
More results
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.