Existentialism: Existence Precedes Essence
실존주의와 앙가주망
A foundational existentialist thesis asserting that human beings possess no predefined human nature ("existence precedes essence"), making individuals radically free, completely responsible, and condemned to authentic choice.
| Field | Philosophy · Literature & Literary Theory |
|---|---|
| Level of analysis | Micro · Individual |
| Paradigm | Existentialism Phenomenology |
| Key figures | 👤 Jean-Paul Sartre (장폴 사르트르) |
| Year | 1943 |
Key Claims
Jean-Paul Sartre established that because there is no God to design human nature, humans first exist, encounter themselves, and only then define who they are through actions. Humans are ‘condemned to be free’, bearing anguish and absolute responsibility without the refuge of ‘bad faith’ (mauvaise foi).
Further Reading
- Sartre, J.-P. (1943). L’Être et le Néant. (English: Being and Nothingness, 1956).
- Sartre, J.-P. (1946). L’existentialisme est un humanisme.
Related theories 2개
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A transformative philosophical critique diagnosing the crisis of European nihilism and proposing the Will to Power and the Übermensch (Overman)—one who overcomes resentment to create autonomous life-affirming values.
Theories pointing to this one 6개
A mathematical ontology and radical philosophy proposing that genuine truths emerge only when subjects maintain militant fidelity to a disruptive, unrepresentable Event across science, art, politics, or love.
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A major existential theological philosophy defining faith as the state of being grasped by an "ultimate concern", and proposing "the courage to be" as the self-affirmation of being in spite of existential anxiety.
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A seminal phenomenological ontology reformulating human existence as "Dasein" (Being-there)—an entity inextricably embedded in a practical web of relations (Being-in-the-world) characterized by Care and mortality.
A pioneering Christian existentialist framework describing human spiritual progression through three distinct dialectical stages: the Aesthetic, the Ethical, and the Religious ("leap of faith").