13 Facts About Existentialism

Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the subjective experience of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Existentialism is associated with several 19th- and 20th-century European philosophers who shared an emphasis on the human subject, despite often profound differences in thought.

Existentialism merely takes part in the "act" of being a typical waiter, albeit very convincingly.

Existentialism is in a pre-reflexive state where his entire consciousness is directed at what goes on in the room.

Existentialism is then filled with shame for he perceives himself as he would perceive someone else doing what he was doing—as a Peeping Tom.

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Existentialism asserts that people make decisions based on subjective meaning rather than pure rationality.

Existentialism proposed that each individual—not reason, society, or religious orthodoxy—is solely tasked with giving meaning to life and living it sincerely, or "authentically".

Sartre, in his book on existentialism Existentialism is a Humanism, quoted Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov as an example of existential crisis.

Existentialism retained a sense of the tragic, even absurd nature of the quest, symbolized by his enduring interest in the eponymous character from the Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote.

Existentialism'sstov had launched an attack on rationalism and systematization in philosophy as early as 1905 in his book of aphorisms All Things Are Possible.

Existentialism published a major work on these themes, The Destiny of Man, in 1931.

Existentialism was not, however, academically trained, and his work was attacked by professional philosophers for lack of rigor and critical standards.

Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory.