Existentialism

Introduction
Nature of existentialist thought and manner
Historical survey of existentialism
- Precursors of existentialism
- Immediate background and founders
- Emergence as a movement
Methodological issues in existentialism
Substantive issues in existentialism
- Fundamental concepts and contrasts
  - Ontic structure of human existence
  - Manner and style of human existence
- Problems of existentialist philosophy
  - Humanity and human relationships
  - The human situation in the world
  - Significance of Being and transcendence
- Problems of existentialist theology
Social and historical projections of existentialism

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Jean-Paul Sartre sits at a cafe with a cup of coffee and a notebook, a pipe in his mouth.

Two black-and-white portraits of a mustached man flank handwritten notes; overlay text reads “Who was Friedrich Nietzsche?”

Black-and-white photo of a suited man with glasses on a balcony; overlaid text reads “Who was Jean‑Paul Sartre?” with a hazy cityscape in the background.

Christian Kierkegaard: Søren Kierkegaard

Portrait of Austrian writer Franz Kafka as a young man around 1910, wearing a suit and tie, looking directly at the camera.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Rudolf Bultmann, an older man with a mustache, looks at the camera while holding a pipe to his mouth.

At a Glance

Christian Kierkegaard: Søren Kierkegaard

existentialism summary

Existentialism: Media

philosophy

Videos

Two black-and-white portraits of a mustached man flank handwritten notes; overlay text reads “Who was Friedrich Nietzsche?”

Answering Your Questions About Friedrich Nietzsche

This is the philosopher who said “God is dead.”

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Black-and-white photo of a suited man with glasses on a balcony; overlaid text reads “Who was Jean‑Paul Sartre?” with a hazy cityscape in the background.

Nausea, Nothingness, and Existentialism: Meet Jean-Paul Sartre

According to this philosopher, “Man is condemned to be free.”

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

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,...

© Dominique BERRETTY—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Christian Kierkegaard: Søren Kierkegaard

Christian Kierkegaard: Søren Kierkegaard

Danish philosopher, theologian, and cultural critic Soren Kierkegaard, drawing by...

The Royal Library, Copenhagen, National Collections Department, Prints and Photographs (ke007091)

Portrait of Austrian writer Franz Kafka as a young man around 1910, wearing a suit and tie, looking directly at the camera.

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka, c. 1910.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

Karl Jaspers

Karl Jaspers

Karl Jaspers, 1968.

Horst Tappe/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre, 1968.

Gisele Freund

Gabriel Marcel

Gabriel Marcel

Gabriel Marcel, 1951.

H. Roger-Viollet

Rudolf Bultmann, an older man with a mustache, looks at the camera while holding a pipe to his mouth.

Rudolf Bultmann

Rudolf Bultmann.

© Würth GmbH/Swiridoff—ullstein bild/Getty Images

José Ortega y Gasset

José Ortega y Gasset

José Ortega y Gasset.

© Gisèle Freund

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