existentialism
[ eg-zi-sten-shuh-liz-uhm, ek-si- ]
/ ˌɛg zɪˈstɛn ʃəˌlɪz əm, ˌɛk sɪ- /
noun Philosophy.
a philosophical movement that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for making meaningful, authentic choices in a universe seen as purposeless or irrational: existentialism is associated especially with Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel, and Sartre, and is opposed to philosophical rationalism and empiricism.
Origin of existentialism
OTHER WORDS FROM existentialism
ex·is·ten·tial·ist, adjective, noun ex·is·ten·tial·is·tic, adjective ex·is·ten·tial·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb non·ex·is·ten·tial·ism, nounWords nearby existentialism
existence theorem,
existent,
existential,
existential psychology,
existential quantifier,
existentialism,
exit,
exit poll,
exit pupil,
exit strategy,
exit tax
Example sentences from the Web for existentialism
“It all goes back to existentialism,” she says of her career.
British Dictionary definitions for existentialism
existentialism
/ (ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəˌlɪzəm) /
noun
a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe
Derived forms of existentialism
existentialist, adjective, nounCultural definitions for existentialism
existentialism
A movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, with some forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism stresses that people are entirely free and therefore responsible for what they make of themselves. With this responsibility comes a profound anguish or dread. Søren Kierkegaard and Feodor Dostoyevsky in the nineteenth century, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus in the twentieth century, were existentialist writers.