Literature Glossary
Don’t be an oxymoron. Know your literary terms.
Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.
Existentialism
Definition:
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that's all about individual freedom and choice. The universe? Meaningless. Those tired old conventions of society, politics, and religion? Who needs 'em? Human existence? It doesn't matter.
So what does matter to an existentialist?
You.
Existentialism is all about the individual and his or her experience. Existentialists believe it's your responsibility to give your life meaning in this absurd world, and the only way to do that is to live your worthless life to the fullest: passionately, sincerely, and authentically. In the words of those infighting '90s Britpop philosophers, "Be here now."
Existentialism was born at the turn of the 20th century, but it really became popular following World War II, and its themes are strewn all across the arts, from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot to Bill Murray's cinematic tour de force Groundhog Day.
Ready to fill your heart with existential dread? Check out these opinionated dead guys:
- Søren Kierkegaard, the granddaddy of existentialism
- Friedrich Nietzsche, the "God is dead" guy
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, the Notes from the Underground guy
- Martin Heidegger, the "Hey, all of Western philosophy, you're doing it wrong" guy
- Jean-Paul Sartre, the "turned down the Nobel Prize" guy