Existentialism is a philosophical movement that is generally considered a study that pursues meaning in existence and seeks value for the existing individual. Existentialism, unlike other fields of philosophy, does not treat the individual as a concept, and values individual subjectivity over objectivity. As a result, questions regarding the meaning of life and subjective experience are seen as being of paramount importance, above all other scientific and philosophical pursuits. Existentialism often is associated with anxiety, dread, awareness of death, and freedom. Famous existentialists include Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Camus, and Heidegger.

Existentialism emphasizes action, freedom, and decision as fundamental to human existence and is fundamentally opposed to the rationalist tradition and to positivism. That is, it argues against definitions of human beings either as primarily rational, knowing beings who relate to reality primarily as an object of knowledge, or for whom action can or ought to be regulated by rational principles, or as beings who can be defined in terms of their behavior as it looks to or is studied by others. More generally it rejects all of the Western rationalist definitions of being in terms of a rational principle or essence or as the most general feature that all existing things share in common. Existentialism tends to view human beings as subjects in an indifferent, objective, often ambiguous, and "absurd" universe in which meaning is not provided by the natural order, but rather can be created, however provisionally and unstably, by human beings' actions and interpretations.

Although there are certain common tendencies among existentialist thinkers, there are major differences and disagreements among them, and not all of them even affiliate themselves with or accept the validity of the term "existentialism". In German, the phrase Existenzphilosophie (philosophy of existence) is also used.

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@Fatherbob I was also hoping John Safran was going to speak about Avatar and its themes of existentialism and identity.
automotus (Ken Zadora) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:57:27 -0000
@Fatherbob I was also hoping John Safran was going to speak about Avatar and its themes of existentialism and identity.
"I can't believe I'm sitting here watching Survivor and you two are sitting there talking about existentialism." Quoth my mom.
Amplexicaule (Shade Padawadan) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:38:28 -0000
"I can't believe I'm sitting here watching Survivor and you two are sitting there talking about existentialism." Quoth my mom.
@edicus2288i what about Existentialism? Oh wait YOU LOST IT! :-(
exohVal (Valerie Vana) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:41:50 -0000
@edicus2288i what about Existentialism? Oh wait YOU LOST IT! :-(
it is clear that existentialism of which sartre is a representative differs to that of existentialism in psychology at one way or another..
jeelchristine (Jeel Christine) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:24:02 -0000
it is clear that existentialism of which sartre is a representative differs to that of existentialism in psychology at one way or another..
be a feeling of incompletion n mayb its b/c of existentialism n the fact as humans we kno we live 2 die n there must b some sort of "legacy"
LoveDrue (Drue Hunter) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:17:55 -0000
be a feeling of incompletion n mayb its b/c of existentialism n the fact as humans we kno we live 2 die n there must b some sort of "legacy"
@psandalio Love Warrens!
existentialism (Brian Ng) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:39:38 -0000
@psandalio Love Warrens!

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