This is still a DRAFT.

What is existentialism

Existentialism is …

What existentialism says about the meaning of life

Existentialism’s core answer is that life has no meaning given in advance, whether by God, by nature, or by society. Each person creates the meaning of their own life through the choices they make, and takes full responsibility for it. Sartre put it as “existence precedes essence”: we exist first, and only afterwards define what we are.

Key ideas

  • No predefined purpose: Unlike a knife, which is made for cutting, a human being is not made for anything in particular.
  • Radical freedom and responsibility: Since nothing decides for us, we are “condemned to be free” (Sartre). This freedom is exhilarating, but it also brings anguish.
  • Authenticity vs. “bad faith”: Living by what society, family, or religion expects of you, without truly choosing it, is self-deception.
  • Facing death and finitude: Awareness of death is what makes our choices urgent and our own.

Prominent thinkers

  • Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855): Often called the father of existentialism, and a Christian. He held that the individual must find “a truth which is true for me, the idea for which I am willing to live and die”. For him, that meant a personal, passionate “leap of faith”, not an inherited doctrine.
  • Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900): Declared that “God is dead” and warned that nihilism would follow. His answer was to create our own values, to affirm life fully (amor fati, love of one’s fate), and to become who we are.
  • Martin Heidegger (1889–1976): Wrote about authentic existence and “being-toward-death”: facing our mortality frees us from living as “they” live. (He himself rejected the “existentialist” label.)
  • Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980): The movement’s best-known voice, who set out the ideas above in Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946).
  • Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986): Argued in The Ethics of Ambiguity that true freedom includes willing the freedom of others, which gives existentialism an ethical, other-directed side.
  • Albert Camus (1913–1960): Described “the absurd”: the clash between our longing for meaning and a silent universe. His answer was neither suicide nor a leap of faith, but living fully in defiance of the absurd: “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” (He, too, rejected the “existentialist” label.)

Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning, was influenced by existentialism, but differed from it on an important point. Sartre says we invent meaning, while Frankl says we discover it: meaning is already latent in each situation, waiting to be found.

Lumessianity vs. existentialism

What is similar

  • No fixed answer: Like existentialism, Lumessianity does not hand out a predefined meaning of life.
  • Each person decides: Both hold that each person is the one who determines the meaning of their own life (see You are the one who determines your life’s meaning).
  • Authenticity: Both warn against living only by what others expect of us, and encourage each person to listen to themselves and choose their own path.
  • Finitude: Both take seriously the fact that life is finite, and hold that this does not make life meaningless (see Meaning in a finite life).

What is different

  • Not alone: Existentialism largely leaves the individual alone with the question. Lumessianity offers possibilities for answers, and a community in which to explore them together.
  • Uplifting rather than heavy: Existentialism tends to be sober, even heavy, dwelling on anguish and the absurd. In contrast, Lumessianity aims to emotionally inspire people and to make them feel uplifted by the meaning they choose, for example by placing joy and kindness to others at the center.
  • Discovering, not only inventing: Following Frankl, Lumessianity leans toward the view that meaning can be discovered in our lives and circumstances, and not only invented.
  • Not only intellectual: Existentialism is first of all a philosophy. Lumessianity is a spiritual tradition designed to satisfy emotional needs and it includes practices, community, and celebration.