Blackwell Reference Online

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M odern european philosophy As a type of philosophy, existentialism began with the works of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche , although the term “existentialism” was introduced by the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel at the end of the Second World War. At that time, existentialism became a major philosophical movement in continental Europe. It grew from hostility toward the modern rationalism that characterized the Age of Reason. This rationalism claimed that reason is our highest faculty and that it is capable of solving any problem. It held that the universe is a coherent and intelligible system, which can be comprehended in a deductive conceptual system. The rationalism culminated in Hegel 's Absolute Reason. Existentialism suggests that such belief in reason is itself irrational and rejects all purely abstract thinking. Instead of abstraction , it holds that philosophy should deal with the lives and experiences of individuals and their historical situations. Existentialism draws a fundamental distinction between essence and existence . Rationalist philosophy emphasizes essence as the abstract common nature of things. In contrast, existentialism argues that existence precedes essence and starts its philosophical work from individual and particular existence. This doctrine is the source of its name. Existentialism is characterized by its concern with individuality and concreteness. ... log in or subscribe to read full text