Exploring the Controversial Philosophical Movement of Existentialism

The Philosophical Movement of Existentialism Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Instructor’s Name Course Code Date A philosophical movement is a phenomenon in which a group of philosophers shares the same thoughts and ideas on a particular subject, increasing the popularity of a specific issue. The historical period encompassed many philosophical movements from the ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary periods with many philosophical movements gaining accolades in periods. Various groups promulgate philosophical movements, such as scientists, historians, and politicking; there are vast philosophical movements, including dualism, existentialism, nihilism, Confucianism, and stoicism. This paper will narrow down to the modern movement of existentialism and the controversial contributions of the movement. Existentialism is a revolt against traditional philosophy that advocates for human freedom. This philosophical thought tries to understand the world around us and the nature of human freedom. Existentialists tend to lean on values and identity, considering a self-making situation. Freedom is the origin of values. Existentialism explores the concept of human thinking and human existence. They reject that life has an inherent meaning, that an individual is supposed to posit their values, and that existence precedes essence (Hatab, 2012). Humans create and define their meaning of life and make rational choices in an irrational world. The theory asserts that no supreme being or a God controls human existence and that the only way to counter the world is through human existence. Existentialists do not belong to any school of thought, repudiating beliefs or systems, and people decide what is meaningful for them. In the 17th century, philosophers such as Baise Pascal argued that life would be meaningless without God, and Jock Locke advocated for Individualism and Liberalism. Socrates and Gautama’s teachings hit differently in Western philosophy in their confessions which were not existential, thus stirring concern from existentialists. The various existentialists with cont