Existentialism () is the work associated mainly with certain late-19th- and 20th-century European philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subjectnot merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. While the predominant value of existentialist thought is commonly acknowledged to be freedom, its primary virtue is authenticity. In the view of the existentialist, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation, confusion, or dread in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.

Sren Kierkegaard is generally considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher, though he did not use the term existentialism. He proposed that each individualnot society or religionis solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely, or "authentically". Existentialism became popular in the years following World War II, and strongly influenced many disciplines besides philosophy, including theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology.

The term is often seen as a historical convenience as it was first applied to many philosophers in hindsight, long after they had died. In fact, while existentialism is generally considered to have originated with Kierkegaard, the first prominent existentialist philosopher to adopt the term as a self-description was Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre posits the idea that "what all existentialists have in common is the fundamental doctrine that existence precedes essence", as scholar Frederick Copleston explains. According to philosopher Steven Crowell, defining existentialism has been relatively difficult, and he argues that it is better understood as a general approach used to reject certain systematic philosophies rather than as a systematic philosophy itself. Sartre himself, in a lecture delivered in 1945, described existentialism as "the attempt to draw all the consequences from a position of consistent atheism".

Answer the following questions:
1. Who is thought to be the first philosopher to be an existentialist?
2. Did he call his way of thinking existentialism?
3. Who did he say is responsible for having meaning in one's life?
4. Instead of what?
5. Did this way of thought become popular after the second World War?
6. What are some other disciplines that existentialism influenced?
7. Where do these philosophers believe that thinking begins?
8. Instead of?
9. Is authenticity the main value of this type of thinking?
10. What is the main value then?
11. And what is authenticity?
12. What type of world does an existentialist think we live in?
13. What is the beginning point of an individual called?
14. Is that a feeling of happiness and order?
15. What then?
16. What do people who hold these beliefs think about academic philosophies?
17. Were those who thought this way called existentialists at the time?
18. Who was the first one to call himself by this term?
19. Does Steven Crowell believe that it is easy to define existentialism?
20. When did Sartre lecture about this?

Numbered answers:
1. Sren Kierkegaard
2. No
3. each individual
4. society or religion
5. Yes
6. theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology.
7. with the human subject
8. the thinking subject
9. No
10. freedom
11. its primary virtue
12. meaningless or absurd
13. the existential attitude
14. No
15. disorientation, confusion, or dread
16. too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.
17. No
18. Jean-Paul Sartre
19. No
20. 1945