Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- existentialism - Immediate background and founders
- existentialism
- existentialism - Nature of existentialist thought and manner
- Western philosophy - The existentialism of Jaspers and Sartre
- 20th-century international relations
- 20th-century international relations - The collapse of the old order
- existential crisis
- history of Europe: Top Questions
- existentialism - Emergence as a movement
How did the global conflicts of the twentieth century influence the rise of existentialist philosophy?
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Existentialism
French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, known as a founding figure of existentialism, in Paris.
The global conflicts of the twentieth century, particularly World War II, profoundly influenced existentialist philosophy. The widespread destruction and uncertainty of this era challenged the prevailing optimism of Romanticism, revealing the fragility of human existence. Existentialism emerged, emphasizing the individual's precariousness, the concept of being "thrown into the world," and the limitations that condition freedom. Negative aspects of life, such as suffering and death, which earlier philosophies might have downplayed, became central to existentialist thought, highlighting the problematic and concrete nature of human existence.12