Introduction to existentialism pdf

existentialism A philosophical position associated with two main theses: first, that humans have a special sort of existence that always points beyond itself and which cannot be assimilated to the mode of existence of nonhuman things; second, that it is possible to overcome the error of conceiving of ourselves as fundamentally alienated or estranged from the world by revealing the dependence of a significant world upon human meaning-bestowing practices.

Such a characterization of existentialism is not uncontentious, especially when compared with the received popular view. Existentialism is often popularly portrayed as advocating a form of nihilism and a consequent flight into irrationality: the world as a whole is without meaning or value and actions are groundless and arbitrary; the lack of any necessity for the existence or order of the world leads to a sense of despair and Angst in the face of actions and a life that is f