What is Existentialism?
Existentialism is a philosophical movement concerned with the nature of human existence and the problem of meaning in a universe that offers no inherent purpose. At its core is the doctrine that “existence precedes essence”—the idea that individuals are not born with a fixed nature but instead define themselves through their choices and actions. Existentialism explores the human individual’s struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence.
The movement centers on several interconnected themes: radical freedom and responsibility, anxiety (angst) in the face of choice, authenticity versus self-deception (what Sartre called “bad faith”), and the confrontation with mortality and meaninglessness. Existentialism is a catch-all term for those philosophers who consider the nature of the human condition as a key philosophical problem and who share the view that this problem is best addressed through ontology.
Origins & Lineage
While existentialism is generally considered to have originated with Kierkegaard, the first prominent existentialist philosopher to adopt the term as a self-description was Sartre. The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) wrote works that would become foundational to existential thought, including Fear and Trembling (1843) and The Concept of Dread (1844), though he was largely unrecognized during his lifetime and his writings were not widely read outside Denmark until the twentieth century.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) became the second major precursor, particularly through his proclamation that “God is dead” and his insistence that individuals must create their own values in the absence of divine authority. His major works include Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883–1891), Beyond Good and Evil (1886), and The Genealogy of Morals (1887).
As an intellectual movement that exploded on the scene in mid-twentieth-century France, existentialism emerged against the backdrop of the Second World War, the Nazi death camps, and the atomic bombings. Although the most popular voices were French—Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty—the conceptual groundwork was laid by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and twentieth-century German philosophers like Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Karl Jaspers.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness (1943) and his 1945 lecture “Existentialism is a Humanism” became defining texts of the movement. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) applied existentialist concepts to gender and became a founding text of second-wave feminism. The term existentialism (in French L’existentialisme) was coined in the mid-1940s by Gabriel Marcel.
How It’s Practiced
Unlike contemplative or meditative traditions, existentialism is practiced through the act of living consciously and making authentic choices. It manifests as a commitment to self-examination, particularly around moments of decision, anxiety, and confrontation with life’s fundamental conditions.
For existentialists, the possibility of breaking free from patterns of self-deception emerges in the wake of powerful emotional experiences or moods—feelings of “nausea” (Sartre), “absurdity” (Camus), “anxiety” (Kierkegaard), “guilt” (Heidegger), or “mystery” (Marcel)—uncanny affects that shake us from complacency and force us to confront the question of existence.
Practical application often involves reflective journaling on choices made, examining whether actions align with authentic values rather than social expectations, and cultivating awareness of one’s freedom and responsibility in each moment. The existential method emphasizes subjective truth—not abstract knowledge but lived commitment. Therapy informed by existentialism focuses on helping individuals confront fundamental anxieties about death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness.
Existentialism Today
Contemporary seekers encounter existentialism primarily through philosophy courses, psychotherapy (particularly existential therapy and logotherapy), literature, and self-directed study. University programs in philosophy and religious studies frequently offer dedicated courses on existentialism. Existential psychotherapy, developed by figures like Rollo May, Viktor Frankl, and Irvin Yalom, applies existentialist concepts to mental health and meaning-making.
The movement’s influence extends beyond academic philosophy into literature (Dostoevsky, Kafka, Camus), theater (Sartre’s No Exit, Beckett’s Waiting for Godot), and film. Reading groups, philosophy cafés, and online forums provide spaces for discussing existentialist texts and themes. While there are no formal existentialist retreats or organized practices in the way one might find in spiritual traditions, workshops on existential therapy and meaning-making occasionally appear in therapeutic and educational contexts.
Common Misconceptions
Existentialism is frequently misunderstood as nihilistic or pessimistic—a philosophy of despair. While some see existentialism as bleak, writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre showed it as an optimistic worldview that offers readers a chance to take control of their own fates. One reason existentialism is assumed to be bleak is that it consciously tries to change people’s minds about their traditional avenues of hope.
Another misconception is that existentialism is inherently atheistic. In fact, the movement includes both religious and atheistic branches. In a lecture delivered in 1945, Sartre described existentialism as “the attempt to draw all the consequences from a position of consistent atheism.” However, Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, and others developed explicitly Christian or Jewish existentialist philosophies centered on faith and the individual’s relationship with God.
Some assume existentialism dismisses morality or community. While it rejects predetermined moral codes, most existentialist thinkers emphasize profound personal responsibility and the ethical weight of one’s choices. The slogan “existence precedes essence” does not mean “anything goes” but rather that individuals bear full responsibility for the values they enact.
How to Begin
For newcomers, begin with Sartre’s 1946 lecture Existentialism is a Humanism, a accessible 70-page introduction that addresses common criticisms and outlines core principles. Walter Kaufmann’s anthology Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (1956) provides excerpts from major figures with helpful commentary.
From there, explore Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling (for religious existentialism), Sartre’s novel Nausea (1938) for visceral philosophical fiction, or Camus’s The Stranger (1942) and The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) for the absurdist branch. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947) offers a systematic existentialist ethics.
For therapeutic application, Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (1946) and Irvin Yalom’s Existential Psychotherapy (1980) bridge philosophy and practice. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy maintain authoritative, free online entries on existentialism and individual thinkers.