History UsefulNotes / Existentialism

%%* The ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "Objects In Space" had existentialist themes, according to JossWhedon's commentary.

* Jon on both ''{{Garfield}}'' and ''Webcomic/GarfieldMinusGarfield'' explains [[http://www.gocomics.com/garfieldminusgarfield/2013/08/21#.Ukmd6z-IqV0 existential angst]].

%%* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''

%%** Which is to be expected, being an XMeetsY of the previous two plays.

It is important to stress that, befitting a philosophy of individuality and self-created meaning, thinkers both pre-existential, existential, and post-existential differ wildly in their conclusions and their sentiments. You'll find that many of the people held up as examples of existentialism indignantly claimed that they weren't -- probably a side-effect of the fact that nonconformity is one of the school's main tenets ("Once you label me, you negate me" is a famous line of Kierkegaard's). For instance, Soren Kierkegaard was a Protestant Priest and a devout Christian, and some of his works were about [[DeconReconSwitch finding and discovering a new modern approach to religious belief]]. A strain and approach that anticipated and inspired other thinkers interested in reconciling religion with the modern world. Creator/FriedrichNietzsche however was an atheist, as was most of the post-war French thinkers (Sartre, Camus, Beauvoir). Yet even Nietzsche differed from the latter by means of his distinct pessimism, his strong sense of {{Irony}} which allowed him to advocate ideas and views that are inherently contradictory and paradoxical. Active existentialists like Sartre, and his circle of friends, as well as the school of literature and philosophy that he inspired, advocated ideas that were intended to be clear, humanistic, bridge together ideas and views even from sources that were on the opposite spectrum. For Sartre, who was sympathetic to Marxism, existentialism was primarily a means of advocating and advancing social criticism into contemporary society, and criticizing colonialism, racism and advocating social justice. The likes of Creator/AlbertCamus differed with Sartre in his political sympathies and he also rejected the label of existentialism and advocated instead the idea of "the absurd" which was a middle ground between Nietzschean pessimism and Sartrean humanism. As such existentialism was originally, and ''intentionally'' a very diverse school of thought rather than a single authoritative ideology or beliefs. Some historians see it as simply a cultural and intellectual movement rather than a real philosophy. That's about as far as we can cover the philosophical side of existentialism.

You see, existentialism is one of those rare serious intellectual strains whose ideas entered the cultural lexicon and became important and relevant to mainstream popular culture. One reason for this is that the original existentialists actually wrote for a non-academic audience, and by means of word-of-mouth, the ForeignCultureFetish for Americans for forties and fifties' UsefulNotes/{{France}}, and the counter-culture of TheSixties and TheSeventies, the ideas spread and inspired much popular philosophy, campus radicals,literary and genre fiction, popular musicians and film-makers. Such works differ in many ways from philosophical existentialism for the understandable reason that as works of entertainment, they are more interested in using it as sources of conflict and dramatic tension, than as serious philosophical inquiry and research. Existentialist ideas inform works of art by [[TrueArtIsAngsty providing greater inner conflict and tension]] as well as [[TropesAreTools a source and method]] for deeper characterization. It led to the introduction of general ambiguity; a questioning of motives, and separating motivation from actions in manners that are supposed to make the audience question their identification with the protagonist. Audiences became reluctant to accept a character doing something right on face value; it became important to know what that particular "right thing" was, how did this character decide if it was "right" or not, or if [[JustFollowingOrders said character did it because someone else told him it was right]]. Stories inspired by existentialism often paved the way for conclusions that were [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow tentative]], [[TheEndOrIsIt skeptical]], and [[GainaxEnding unresolved]], even when the plots were otherwise simple and straightforward. It also leads to stories with MoralityKitchenSink and GrayAndGreyMorality. Existentialist works can be tragic, pessimistic and end on a DownerEnding but it can also be affirmative, optimistic, have BittersweetEnding and EarnYourHappyEnding.

TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism has an article and analysis on this subject.]] See also {{Absurdism}}, {{Postmodernism}}, {{Romanticism}}, {{Deconstruction}} and Individualism.

The term existentialism came into prominence in TheForties in France where it was used in club debates, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness and after early resistance]], adopted by Sartre as a label and category defining his philosophy. The term "existentialism" seems to have been coined by the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel. As Sartre, and others, noted in his works, the philosophy [[TropeCodifier codifies]] and identifies a particular strain of thought and idea, rather than invent something new out of whole cloth. As such one can find ideas similar to, or anticipating existentialism, in the works of Kierkegaard and Creator/FriedrichNietzsche, as well as a host of other novelists (Creator/FyodorDostoevsky, Creator/LeoTolstoy for instance) and dramatists and other artists. Sartre himself went further, citing Jesus's words on the cross in the Gospel of Matthew [[note]]"My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?"[[/note]]. It gained popularity in the early 1940s around the time of the Modernist movement (amidst incomprehensible scientific discoveries that inspired LovecraftianFiction, and of course the horrors of WorldWarTwo, which contributed to further [[TrueArtIsAngsty popularity of Angst in the arts]]), when Jean-Paul Sartre [[TropeCodifier codified]] existential philosophy with three words: "Existence precedes essence." It was the reverse of most previous philosophical thought, which held that the essence (soul, purpose, meaning) of a thing came first. Existentialism coevolved with, and takes tropes and inspirations from, the artistic movement of PostModernism, which [[NoFourthWall dissolves the boundary between life and art and reality and fiction]]. Both are connected by the philosophy that life is art, and you can live your life as your own creative art.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored2}}'' both a CentralTheme dealing with power, choice and WhatYouAreInTheDark. The game provides the players and their villains with abilities and resources and makes their choice on how they use that power the central dramatic conflict. You are judged by your smallest and your biggest actions, all of which have consequences and for which you alone are responsible.

* ''The Unbearable Lightness Of Being'': The book actually opens with a contemplation on Nietzsche's concept of "eternal return" (which is then refuted).

* ''[[http://revfitz.com/existential-terror-breakfast/ Existential Terror and Breakfast]]: Revolves around the terrible existential dread one feels when they fail to be actively engaged.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Few people are the heroes of anything other than their own stories, nobody is truly consistent to who they think they are, and everyone is capable of making changes, both positively and negatively.

* In Creator/WillEisner's ''A life force'' the major character, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic a Jewish carpenter]] has just been told that the study hall he built for a local synagogue won't be named after him but a rich benefactor, making him feel like the four years he spent building it are wasted. On the way home he has a heart attack. He sees a cockroach on the sidewalk struggling to survive and figures they are NotSoDifferent, but also starts to wonder why he wants to live in the first place. He figures that either God created man or man created God but in either case the meaning of life is anyone's guess. Eventually he concludes that staying alive is the only thing everyone agrees on and manages to do that. Towards the end of the story [[spoiler: he divorces his overbearing wife and starts a relationship with a NewOldFlame he genuinely loves because he doesn't want to be a cockroach who's only concerned with staying alive]].
* Jon on both ''{{Garfield}}'' and ''Webcomic/GarfieldMinusGarfield'' explains [[http://www.gocomics.com/garfieldminusgarfield/2013/08/21#.Ukmd6z-IqV0 existential angst]].

%%* ''Film/WingsOfDesire''

* Creator/WoodyAllen probably did more than any director to introduce "existentialist motifs" in mainstream films. Sometimes its PlayedForLaughs, other times its SeriousBusiness. The most well-known examples are ''Film/CrimesAndMisdemeanors'' and ''Film/MatchPoint''.

%%* ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''
%%** Generally considered to be one of the forerunners.
%%* ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot''

%%* ''Theatre/NoExit''
%%** Famous for the phrase, "[[ItWasHisSled Hell is other people.]]"

You see, existentialism is one of those rare serious intellectual strains whose ideas entered the cultural lexicon and became important and relevant to mainstream popular culture. One reason for this is that the original existentialists actually wrote for a non-academic audience, and by means of word-of-mouth, the ForeignCultureFetish for Americans for forties and fifties' UsefulNotes/{{France}}, and the counter-culture of TheSixties and TheSeventies, the ideas spread and inspired much popular philosophy, campus radicals,literary and genre fiction, popular musicians and film-makers. Such works differ in many ways from philosophical existentialism for the understandable reason that as works of entertainment, they are more interested in using it as sources of conflict and dramatic tension, than as serious philosophical inquiry and research. Existentialist ideas inform works of art by [[TrueArtIsAngsty providing greater inner conflict and tension]] as well as [[TropesAreTools a source and method]] for deeper characterization. It led to the introduction of general ambiguity; a questioning of motives, and separating motivation from actions in manners that are supposed to make the audience question their identification with the protagonist. Audiences became reluctant to accept a character doing something right on face value; it became important to know what that particular "right thing" was, how did this character decide if it was "right" or not, or if [[JustFollowingOrders said character did it because someone else told him it was right]]. Stories inspired by existentialism often paved the way for conclusions that were [[SoWhatDoWeNow tentative]], [[TheEndOrIsIt skeptical]], and [[GainaxEnding unresolved]], even when the plots were otherwise simple and straightforward. It also leads to stories with MoralityKitchenSink and GrayAndGreyMorality. Existentialist works can be tragic, pessimistic and end on a DownerEnding but it can also be affirmative, optimistic, have BittersweetEnding and EarnYourHappyEnding.

* In WillEisner's ''A life force'' the major character, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic a Jewish carpenter]] has just been told that the study hall he built for a local synagogue won't be named after him but a rich benefactor, making him feel like the four years he spent building it are wasted. On the way home he has a heart attack. He sees a cockroach on the sidewalk struggling to survive and figures they are NotSoDifferent, but also starts to wonder why he wants to live in the first place. He figures that either God created man or man created God but in either case the meaning of life is anyone's guess. Eventually he concludes that staying alive is the only thing everyone agrees on and manages to do that. Towards the end of the story [[spoiler: he divorces his overbearing wife and starts a relationship with a NewOldFlame he genuinely loves because he doesn't want to be a cockroach who's only concerned with staying alive]].

* ''La Nausée'' (''Nausea''): The book holds a dark, melancholic take on Exis' as Antoine, the protagonist, uses this philosophy to avoid the darkness he sees and feels as the eponymous title suggests.

* ''Literature/TheStranger'': This novella is often cited as an example. [[WordOfGod Albert Camus denied this]], but it's worth noting that he became commonly known as the "godfather of existentialism". The book itself could be labeled as Absurdist or Nihilist; either that or it was just a character study of a psychopath.

It is important to stress that, befitting a philosophy of individuality and self-created meaning, thinkers both pre-existential, existential, and post-existential differ wildly in their conclusions and their sentiments. You'll find that many of the people held up as examples of existentialism indignantly claimed that they weren't -- probably a side-effect of the fact that nonconformity is one of the school's main tenets ("Once you label me, you negate me" is a famous line of Kierkegaard's). For instance, Soren Kierkegaard was a Protestant Priest and a devout Christian, and some of his works were about [[DeconReconSwitch finding and discovering a new modern approach to religious belief]]. A strain and approach that anticipated and inspired other thinkers interested in reconciling religion with the modern world. Creator/FriedrichNietzsche however was an atheist, as was most of the post-war French thinkers (Sartre, Camus, Beauvoir). Yet even Nietzsche differed from the latter by means of his distinct pessimism, his strong sense of {{Irony}} which allowed him to advocate ideas and views that are inherently contradictory and paradoxical. Active existentialists like Sartre, and his circle of friends, as well as the school of literature and philosophy that he inspired, advocated ideas that were intended to be clear, humanistic, bridge together ideas and views even from sources that were on the opposite spectrum. For Sartre, who was sympathetic to Marxism, existentialism was primarily a means of advocating and advancing social criticism into contemporary society, and criticizing colonialism, racism and advocating social justice. The likes of Creator/AlbertCamus differed with Sartre in his political sympathies and he also rejected the label of existentialism and advocated instead the idea of "the absurd" which was a middle ground between Nietzschean pessimism and Sartrean humanism. Later thinkers would have their own differences and issues with this group but that's about as far as we can go with the philosophical side of existentialism.

You see, existentialism is one of those rare serious intellectual strains whose ideas entered the cultural lexicon and became important and relevant to mainstream popular culture. One reason for this is that the original existentialists actually wrote for a non-academic audience, and by means of word-of-mouth, the ForeignCultureFetish for Americans for forties and fifties' UsefulNotes/{{France}}, and the counter-culture of TheSixties and TheSeventies, the ideas spread and inspired much popular philosophy, campus radicals, students, literary and genre fiction, popular musicians and film-makers. Such works differ in many ways from philosophical existentialism for the understandable reason that as works of entertainment, they are more interested in using it as sources of conflict and dramatic tension, than as serious philosophical inquiry and research. Existentialist ideas inform works of art by providing greater inner conflict and tension as well as a source and method for deeper characterization. It led to the introduction of general ambiguity; a questioning and separation of motivations divorced from actions. Stories inspired by existentialism often paved the way for conclusions that were [[SoWhatDoWeNow tentative]], [[TheEndOrIsIt skeptical]]. and [[GainaxEnding unresolved]].

TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism has an article and analysis on this subject.]] See also {{Absurdism}}, {{Postmodernism}}, {{Romanticism}} and Individualism.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Few people are the heroes of anything other than their own stories, and Dr. Manhattan, the closest thing to God in this world, has grown aloof from humanity even as the apocalypse looms. Yet he later comes to recognize that the value of life lies in the sheer improbability of existence in the first place.

-->-- '''Søren Kierkegaard''', father of existentialism

Existentialism is [[PostSomethingIsm the response]] to the soul-crushingly [[TheFatalist fatalistic]], [[WhatIsEvil morally relativistic]], DarknessInducedAudienceApathy-fostering worldview of [[StrawNihilist Nihilism]]. A tragic consequence of the scientific scepticism of [[UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment The Enlightenment]], Nihilism {{deconstruct|ion}}s and rejects all ethics, ideals and meanings in life as meaningless unproven lies (e.g., science can't differentiate which {{morality|Tropes}} exists and which is {{propaganda|Piece}}).

On the other hand, existentialism embraces subjectivity. The existentialist agrees that "meaning" is an empty word, [[HumansAreFlawed our life sucks]] and [[YouCantFightFate there's nothing we can do about it]]. However, they also point out that each individual can have the choice to ''make the most out of each hour of their empty lives''. Those who choose to spend it being bored, following others, {{wangst}}ing endlessly, adhering to [[ItAmusedMe hedonism]], or ForTheEvulz are [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers wasting it]].

Existentialism often advocates individuality and involves character tropes such as having a personal ''raison d'être'' (reason for existence), BeYourself, DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife, IAmWhatIAm, living out your GoalInLife, EarnYourHappyEnding, and sometimes moments of YouAreNotAlone. This gives a [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech world-of-cardboard]][=/=]PatrickStewartSpeech [[ShutUpHannibal to the nihilists]] and {{reconstruct|ion}}s the "[[WhatYouAreInTheDark meaning in life]]" concept.

The term "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_angst#Angst Existential]] {{Angst}}" was even coined to describe the sudden feeling of QuicksandBox it gave them, especially if they had just abandoned the FreedomFromChoice provided by both religion and social peer pressure.

Most existentialist thinkers, such as Creator/JeanPaulSartre and Creator/FriedrichNietzsche, are atheists. That being said, some existentialist thinkers have incorporated religion into their thinking and philosophies (for example, Søren Kierkegaard, who is considered to be the father of existentialism, incorporates his Christian religious beliefs into his existentialist thinking).

While existential motifs are OlderThanYouThink, Søren Kierkegaard, Creator/FyodorDostoevsky, Creator/LeoTolstoy and Friedrich Nietzsche foreshadowed in the 19th century some of what would be the defining characteristics of the philosophy, although they didn't know each other and the philosophy was unnamed. Sartre himself went further, citing Jesus's words on the cross in the Gospel of Matthew [[note]] "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" [[/note]]. The term "existentialism" seems to have been coined by the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel. It gained popularity in the early 1940s around the time of the Modernist movement (amidst incomprehensible scientific discoveries that inspired LovecraftianFiction, and of course the horrors of WorldWarTwo, which contributed to further [[TrueArtIsAngsty popularity of Angst in the arts]]), when Jean-Paul Sartre [[TropeCodifier codified]] existential philosophy with three words: "Existence precedes essence." It was the reverse of most previous philosophical thought, which held that the essence (soul, purpose, meaning) of a thing came first. Existentialism coevolved with, and takes tropes and inspirations from, the artistic movement of PostModernism, which [[NoFourthWall dissolves the boundary between life and art and reality and fiction]]. Both are connected by the philosophy that life is art, and you can live your life as your own creative art.

Existentialism however had a very serious and political edge as well, which also reflected and affected the arts. Sartre noted that people who didn't take responsibility and live their life as they feel, and continued to kowtow to either family pressure, Church dogmas, or a party line without thinking and challenging it for themselves were living in "bad faith"; and that even people in exceptionally difficult situations have to choose how best to live their lives and be NeutralNoLonger (or TakeAThirdOption). With everyone "condemned to be free" people are left to find WhatYouAreInTheDark; discovering an identity separate from their gender, sexuality, family, religion, political persuasion, or nationality. Needless to say, this notion of radical freedom was very appealing to the TheSixties generation around the world.

You'll find that many of the people held up as examples of existentialism indignantly claimed that they weren't -- probably a side-effect of the fact that nonconformity is one of the school's main tenets ("Once you label me, you negate me" is a famous line of Kierkegaard's).

TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism has an article and analysis on this subject.]]

Existentialist character types include TheAntiNihilist and TheUbermensch (the extreme {{Blue And Orange| Morality}} version). The KnightInSourArmor and the DeterminedDefeatist have some elements of this.

See also {{Absurdism}}, {{Postmodernism}}, {{Romanticism}} and Individualism.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'': "No man can walk out on his own story." While this may sound like an argument for predestination, the film itself is about how an individual dropped into a harsh and confusing world discovers that only he can answer the question, “Who am I?”

* The works of GenUrobuchi tend to have strong existentialist themes, with characters who discover that the world doesn't work the way they thought it did and having to then define themselves as their own individuals, rather than by the standards they used before. The process is never portrayed as fun or easy, but the characters come out the other end much stronger people.
* Madoka Magica features several nods to existentialism. They talk a lot about freedom of choice and despair The ending of the anime is basically a kierkegaardian leap of faith to protect people from despair. The Rebellion movie has a lot of Nietzschean themes and quotes his famous "god is dead". Homuras journey of doing the same "pointless" task over and over to protect herself from despair is similar to Nietzsches eternal return as well as Albert Camus "Myth of Sysiphus".

* Alexander Dugin, who is an advisor of Vladimir Putin (some even suspect his main influence) and who is connected to a large group of radical politicians from all over the world (ranging from Syriza in greece, to Front National in France to some politicians of the Alternative for Germany, Turkey and Japan) is strongly influenced by existentialism and wants to change the subject of political theory from class/race/individualism to Dasein/Existence. Dugin wrote several books on Heidegger, stated that US americans need to adopt existentialist ideas to thrive, and published an article where he used the philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre to analyse David Bowie.

[[folder:Film]]
%%* ''BeingThere''

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'': "No man can walk out on his own story." While this may sound like an argument for predestination, the film itself is about how an individual dropped into a harsh and confusing world discovers that only he can answer the question, “Who am I?”

%%* ''ZorbaTheGreek''

%%* ''{{Candide}}'' Generally considered to be one of the forerunners. Famous for the phrase, "That is well said, but we must cultivate our garden."

* ''HisDarkMaterials'': If GodIsEvil and the best afterlife we can hope for is to [[CessationOfExistence dissolve into pure energy]], then it is our duty to have a story to tell when we look back on our lives.

%%* ''NotesFromUnderground''

* ''{{Planescape}}'': Living next door to angels and demons and being able to visit gods and meet them in person, the people of [[CityPlanet Sigil]] have long given up on religion and the city is dominated by several philosophical factions that seek to find meaning in existence.

%%* ''RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead''

%%* ''FinalFantasy''

%%* ''LegacyOfKain''

[[folder: Other]]
* Comedian Kevin Bridges did a bit about how God created the universe, but 'pissed off' because he had other properties to attend to. Humanity's only response to a godless world is to be like a teenager having a party when his parents are away for the weekend. At a wild party it's a given you'll get roughed up a bit.
[[/folder]]

->''There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.''

Existentialism is [[PostSomethingIsm the response]] to the soul-crushingly [[TheFatalist fatalistic]], [[WhatIsEvil morally relativistic]], DarknessInducedAudienceApathy-fostering [[CrapsackWorld worldview]] of [[StrawNihilist Nihilism]]. Nihilism (a tragic consequence of the scientific scepticism of the [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]) {{deconstruct|ion}}s and rejects all ethics, ideals and meanings in life as meaningless unproven lies (e.g., science can't differentiate which morality exists and which is propaganda). However, existentialism on the other hand embraces this subjectivity. The existentialist agrees that "meaning" is an empty word, [[HumansAreFlawed our life sucks]] and [[YouCantFightFate there's nothing we can do about it]]. However, they also point out that each individual can have the choice to ''make the most out of each hour of their empty lives''-those who choose to spend it being bored, following others, {{wangst}}ing endlessly, adhering to [[ItAmusedMe hedonism]] or ForTheEvulz, are [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers wasting it]].

The term "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_angst#Angst Existential]] {{Angst}}" was even coined to describe the sudden feeling of QuickSandbox it gave them, especially if they had just abandoned the FreedomFromChoice provided by both religion and social peer pressure.

Most existentialist thinkers, such as Creator/JeanPaulSartre and Friedrich Nietzsche, are atheists. That being said, some existentialist thinkers have incorporated religion into their thinking and philosophies (for example, Søren Kierkegaard, who is considered to be the father of existentialism, incorporates his Christian religious beliefs into his existentialist thinking).

While existential motifs are OlderThanYouThink, Søren Kierkegaard, Creator/FyodorDostoevsky, Creator/LeoTolstoy and Creator/FriedrichNietzsche foreshadowed in the 19th century some of what would be the defining characteristics of the philosophy, although they didn't know each other and the philosophy was unnamed. Sartre himself went further, citing Jesus's words on the cross in the Gospel of Matthew [[note]] "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" [[/note]]. The term "existentialism" seems to have been coined by the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel. It gained popularity in the early 1940s around the time of the Modernist movement (amidst incomprehensible scientific discoveries that inspired LovecraftianFiction, and of course the horrors of WorldWarTwo, which contributed to further [[TrueArtIsAngsty popularity of Angst in the arts]]), when Jean-Paul Sartre [[TropeCodifier codified]] existential philosophy with three words: "Existence precedes essence." It was the reverse of most previous philosophical thought, which held that the essence (soul, purpose, meaning) of a thing came first. Existentialism coevolved with, and takes tropes and inspirations from, the artistic movement of PostModernism, which [[NoFourthWall dissolves the boundary between life and art and reality and fiction]]. Both are connected by the philosophy that life is art, and you can live your life as your own creative art.

Existentialism however had a very serious and political edge as well, which also reflected and affected the arts. Sartre noted that people who didn't take responsibility and live their life as they feel, and continued to kowtow to either family pressure, Church dogmas or a party line without thinking and challenging it for themselves were living in "bad faith" and that even people in exceptionally difficult situations had to choose and decide how best to live their lives and take a stand and be NeutralNoLonger and/or TakeAThirdOption. Everyone is "condemned to be free" and in the end, people have to find out WhatYouAreInTheDark of their own conscience and create an identity separate from their gender, sexuality, family, religion, political persuasion and nationality. This notion of radical freedom was needless to say very appealing for the generation of TheSixties, in France, England, America and around the world.

You'll find that many of the people held up as examples of existentialism indignantly claimed that they weren't-probably a side-effect of the fact that nonconformity is one of the school's main tenets ("Once you label me, you negate me" is a famous line of Kierkegaard's).

TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism has an article and analysis on the subject.]] Related to {{Absurdism}}, {{Postmodernism}}, {{Romanticism}} and Individualism.