preview

Existentialism And The Beliefs Of The Movement

Decent Essays

“Losing all hope was freedom.” One of the most powerful quotes in Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk that is a good summary of existentialism and the beliefs of the movement. Existentialism was a turning point for society and literature that advocated the expansion of the minds of authors and their readers so we could improve our thinking to be more enlightened and free. The movement sparked much alternative thinking to allow our society to grow into what it is today and without it people would most likely be more close minded and less free. Existentialism was a very influential movement with many impactful authors and will forever be remembered in history because of it’s unique ideas about the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will and how it shifted a culture.
Existentialism is a philosophical idea within ethics that was developed in the 19th century and progressed heavily into the 20th century. Some basic foundational ideas of existentialism are found in early Buddhist and Christian writings, which may have been the starting point for the movement. Also, like existentialism’s previous philosophical ideas that came before it, it rebels against traditional Western thought that believes rationality and consciousness are the key points to understanding the human condition. According to Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous existentialist, “existence precedes and rules essence” (Andrea 665). A clearer way

Get Access