A Wisdom Archive on Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophical movement that views human existence as having a set of underlying themes and characteristics, such as anxiety, dread, freedom, awareness of death, and consciousness of existing, that are primary. That is, they cannot be reduced to or be explained by a natural-scientific approach or any approach that attempts to detach itself from or rise above these themes. Human beings are exposed to or, to use the philosopher Martin Heidegger's phrase, "thrown" into, existence. Existentialists consider being ... Including:

• Existentialism - Overview
• Existentialism - Major concepts in existentialism
• Existentialism - Existentialism before 1970
• Existentialism - Existentialism since 1970
• Existentialism - Criticisms of existentialism
• Existentialism - Existentialism in psychotherapy
• Existentialism - Major thinkers and authors associated with the movement
• Existentialism - Film directors
• Existentialism - Novelists and playwrights
• Existentialism - Philosophers
• Existentialism - Psychologists
• Existentialism - Theologians
• Existentialism - Existentialism in popular culture
• Existentialism - Film
• Existentialism - Humour

Read more here: » Existentialism: Encyclopedia - Existentialism

In the 20th century, religious existentialists proposed that revelation held no content in of itself; rather, they hold that God inspired people with His presence by coming into contact with them. In this view the Bible is a human response that records how we responded to God. Revelation or information from a supernatural source is of much lesser importance in some other religious traditions. It is not of great importance in the Asian religions Taoism, and Confucianism but similarities have been noted between the Abrahamic view of revelation ...

Read more here: » Revelation: Encyclopedia II - Revelation - Existentialism

Existentialism - Film directors. Ingmar Bergman Michel Gondry Eric Rohmer Alain Robbe-Grillet Richard Linklater David O. Russell Michelangelo Antonioni Jean-Luc Godard François Truffaut Mamoru Oshii Existentialism - Novelists and playwrights. Existentialist novelists were generally seen as a mid-1950s phenomenon that continued until the mid- to late 1970s. Most of the major writers we ...

Read more here: » Existentialism: Encyclopedia II - Existentialism - Major thinkers and authors associated with the movement

existentialism
An attitude or philosophy concerning the fate of humanity and the individual which emphasizes free will and taking responsibility for the consequences of our acts

 
(See also: Existentialism, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » existentialism dictionary

Some philosophers deny that the concept of "being" has any meaning at all, since we only define an object's existence by its relation to other objects, and actions it undertakes. The term "I am" has no meaning by itself; it must have an action or relation appended to it. This in turn has led to the thought that "being" and nothingness are closely related, developed in existential philosophy. Existentialist philosophers such as Sartre, as well as continental philosophers such as Hegel and Heidegger have also written extensively on the ...

Read more here: » Being: Encyclopedia II - Being - Being in continental philosophy and existentialism

Existential phenomenology differs from transcendental phenomenology by its rejection of the transcendental ego. Merleau-Ponty objects to the ego's transcendence of the world, which for Husserl leaves the world spread out and completely transparent before the conscious. Heidegger thinks of conscious being as always and already in the world. Transcendence is maintained in existential phenomenology to the extent that the method of phenomenology must take a presuppositionless starting point - transcending claims about the world arising from, for example, natural or scientific at ...

Read more here: » Phenomenology: Encyclopedia II - Phenomenology - Existential phenomenology

Although humans are essentially alone in the world, we long to be connected to others. We want to have meaning in their lives while they have meaning in ours, but ultimately we must come to realize that we cannot depend on others for our validation, and with that realization we finally acknowledge and understand that we are fundamentally alone. The result of this revelation is anxiety in the knowledge ...

Read more here: » Existential therapy: Encyclopedia II - Existential therapy - View of the Human Mind

Peirce proposed three systems of existential graphs: alpha, isomorphic to the propositional calculus and the two-element Boolean algebra; beta, isomorphic to first order logic with identity, with all formulae closed; gamma, (nearly) isomorphic to normal modal logic. Alpha nests in beta and gamma. Beta does not nest in gamma, quantified modal logic being more than even Peirce could envisage. ...

Read more here: » Existential graph: Encyclopedia II - Existential graph - The graphs

Technically, Heidegger did not coin the exact term "existentiell". The common German word "existenziell" is usually translated into English as "existential". However, in Heidegger's works, he coined the German word "existenzial", giving it a meaning distinct from the common German word "existenziell". In English translations of Heidegger, then, the German "existenziell" is transliterated as "existentiell" in English, and the German word "existenzial" is transliterated as "existential", each word having its own technica ...

Read more here: » Existentiell: Encyclopedia II - Existentiell - English Etymology

Christian Existential Humanism (CEH) is a reconstructivist social and political philosophy combining Christian humanism and Christian existentialism. As such, it is a form of religious humanism. CEH consists of three elements: A strong sense of faith, based in a personal relationship with God through Christ; a celebration of individuality and the unique talents of each person; and an ethic of service to humanity as a whole. The central idea of CEH is "Love God, love thyself, love thy neighbor: Obey God, know thyself, ser ...

Read more here: » Christian existential humanism: Encyclopedia - Christian existential humanism

The nature of being has also been debated and explored in Islamic philosophy, notably by Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra.[1] ...

Read more here: » Being: Encyclopedia II - Being - Being in Islamic philosophy

The preamble to the United Nations Charter sums up the existential dilemma of today:
 
"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that defences of peace must be constructed".
 
 In a land where history had sought to be sketched in an arc from Gautama to Gandhi, it is appropriate reflect on such defences and revive them today when war and terrorism have cast their shadow on the world.

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: War and Peace