Existentialism

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɛɡzɪˈstÉ›nʃəlɪzÉ™m/

Origin

existential + -ism; borrowed from German Existentialismus.

Full definition of existentialism

Noun

1. (philosophy, not countable) A twentieth-century philosophical movement emphasizing the uniqueness of each human existence in freely making its self-defining choices.The heyday of existentialism occurred in the mid-twentieth century.
2. (philosophy, countable) The philosophical views of a particular thinker associated with the existentialist movement.Sartre's existentialism is atheistic, but the existentialism of Marcel is distinctly Christian.
• 1965, Mikel Dufrenne, "Existentialism and Existentialisms," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol 26 no 1 (Sep), p. 51.Instead of Existentialism, we should speak of Existentialisms.

Antonyms

• noumenalism

Related terms

• exist
• existence
• existential
• existentialist