Dictionary of Existentialism

Existentialism as a philosophy gained prominence after World War II. Instead of focusing upon a particular aspect of human existence existentialists argued that our focus must be upon the whole being as he/she exists in the world. Rebelling against the rationalism of such philosophers as Descartes and Hegel existentialists reject the emphasis placed on man as primarily a thinking being. Freedom is central to human existence and human relations and encounters cannot be reduced simply to thinking. This Dictionary provides--through alphabetically arranged entries--overviews of the various tenets philosophers and writers of existentialism and of those writers/philosophers who in retrospect seem to existentialists to espouse their philosophy: Nietzsche Kierkegaard Dostoyevski et al.