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Existentialism
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Jean-Paul Sartre sits at a cafe with a cup of coffee and a notebook, a pipe in his mouth.
Jean-Paul Sartre French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, known as a founding figure of existentialism, in Paris.

Existentialism

philosophy
Written by
Nicola Abbagnano
Emeritus Professor of History of Philosophy, University of Turin, Italy, 1936–76. Foremost Italian Existentialist philosopher. Author of Critical Existentialism and others.
Nicola Abbagnano
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Existentialism, any of various philosophies, most influential in continental Europe from about 1930 to the mid-20th century, that have in common an interpretation of human existence in the world that stresses its concreteness and its problematic character. According to existentialism: (1) Existence is always particular and individual—always my existence, your existence, his existence, her existence. (2) Existence is primarily the problem of existence (i.e., of its mode of being); it is, therefore, also the investigation...

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