Modernism as a literary movement emerged in France during the last quarter of the 19th century and remained an influential force right up until the Second World War throughout whole Europe and lasted approximately up to 1950. Modernism is also used as an umbrella term applied to the wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends…
Existentialism is defined as the philosophical theory, which holds that a further set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to grasp human existence. What makes this philosophical argument distinct is not its concern with existence overall, but rather its claim that thinking of human existence requires new categories that are not…
Major Themes Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, the term is impossible to define precisely. Certain themes common to virtually all existentialist writers can, however, be identified. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. Moral Individualism Most philosophers…
Existentialism: a philosophical movement that focuses on individual autonomy and the necessity of making reasoned decisions for oneself. Jean-Paul Sartre, (1905-1980) French author and philosopher Best-known proponent of humanistic existentialism A Marxist advocate of political causes French resistance fighter of WWII Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature Sartre was an atheist who believed that…
Existentialists believe that man’s own individual experience or “existing” comes before anything such as a general purpose, goodness or “truth,” or any other Absolute that may be felt to exist. Man creates himself through his own thoughts and actions since the only reality for an individual is that of his own personal existence and nothing…