Existentialism: basics

In short: Existentialism places individual existence, freedom, and human responsibility at the centre. Central to it is the idea that people give their lives meaning only through their own choices.

In more detail: Well-known representatives include Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus in the 20th century.

In detail

• “Existence precedes essence”: Sartre’s central claim that humans have no predetermined nature but create themselves.
• Freedom and responsibility: According to this philosophy, radical human freedom comes with full responsibility for one’s own choices.
• The absurd: Camus describes the feeling of meaninglessness in the face of a world without an inherent purpose.
• Anxiety and despair: Existentialist thinkers see these feelings not as a flaw but as part of an honest engagement with life.
• Authenticity: A central ideal is to live by one’s own values rather than being guided by outside expectations.
• Religious vs. atheist existentialism: Søren Kierkegaard represented a religious variant, Sartre an atheist one.
• Influence: Existentialism shaped literature, psychology, and pop culture far beyond philosophy (was-ist-philosophie, stoizismus-gelassenheit-im-alltag).