existentialism

ex·is·ten·tial·ism

noun

Existentialism is defined as a philosophical theory that focuses on free will and personal responsibility.

A philosophical theory focusing on free will is an example of existentialism.

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"existentialism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism>.

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existentialism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism

existentialism

a philosophical and literary movement, variously religious or atheistic, stemming from Kierkegaard and represented by Sartre, Heidegger, etc.: it is based on the doctrine that concrete, individual existence takes precedence over abstract, conceptual essence and holds that human beings are totally free and responsible for their acts and that this responsibility is the source of their feelings of dread and anguish

Origin of existentialism

French existentialisme from existenciel

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"existentialism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism>.

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existentialism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism

existentialism

noun

A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

Related Forms:

ex′is·ten′tial·ist
adjective
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"existentialism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism>.

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existentialism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism

Noun

(plural existentialisms)

(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.
(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.

Antonyms

noumenalism

Origin

existential +‎ -ism; borrowed from German Existentialismus.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"existentialism." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism>.

APA Style

existentialism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Existentialism

existentialism

existentialism

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