Existentialism is the reason why the people with the highest I.Q.s in the world go traveling in tibet then become garbagemen.
"I used to think Eistein was smart, then I read about existentialism and I don't beleive in the word smart anymore."
by matthhhhew December 12, 2006
The other definition here is correct to a certain extent but it is really much more than that. It stresses individuality and freedom of choice but it also stresses an individuals responsibility to the choices he makes. Also discards all religion as a means to control human behavior. Existentialism is still a current movement but its most influential members came in the early 1900's. They include Sartre, Camus and Dostoevsky.
by BurgLyke October 12, 2003
Existentialism is essentially about having to make choices. Every action and every non-action is the result of a choice to do, or not to do, something. The summation of those decisions - to act or not to act - is you - who you are.
"I was only following orders". Not so, you have the choice to follow or not to follow the orders. Only YOU can make the choice.. Your life is a succession of decisions. And those decisions create who you are.
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by R McLachlan December 28, 2003
Life may be pointless. We will die and leave no marking on the world.
But that's no bloody reason to stop trying. In struggle humans are beautiful creatures. We are each our own invention fighting against the waves of Entropy to give our life meaning. And THAT is why life is worth living.
But that's no bloody reason to stop trying. In struggle humans are beautiful creatures. We are each our own invention fighting against the waves of Entropy to give our life meaning. And THAT is why life is worth living.
by Galen Deepinglen August 04, 2004
It is the self-realixation that one exist in a meaningless life, and that all lives ultimately lead to the same conclusion, death. It doesn't mattter how you live, because in the end, you will be no different that anyone else.
by Moondust August 15, 2003
Existentialism in its purest form is any philosophy which states that existence precedes essence; that is to say, that there is no inherent purpose in life (though normally this is not carried through to nihilism.). It also states that the physical world does not necessarily precede the conscious state, as a conscious mind must find itself in a world to attain consciousness in any meaningful state.
by crabbadon October 19, 2007