Was ist Existenzialismus?

In expositions of existentialism still quite different conceptions of existentialism are covered, which – even while being vaguely disparate – occasionally served a whole generation as an object of identification. Beyond that, the more recent literature – including some biographical and historical approaches – addresses the question of a comprehensive philosophical definition of existentialism, which is not limited to the original formulation that existence precedes essence. At that, it is particularly interesting to outline an existentialist ethic and to ask for its sources and authors. In this regard, primarily the works of Simone de Beauvoir come to focus, who by connecting existentialist core ideas with the concept of sedimentation develops a consistent moral philosophy.

Agnès Poirier: An den Ufern der Seine. Die magischen Jahre von Paris 1940–1950. Stuttgart 2019: Klett-Cotta. 508 S. – Gary Cox: Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialismus und Exzess. Darmstadt 2018: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. 267 S. – Kate Kirkpatrick: Simone de Beauvoir. Ein modernes Leben. München 2020: Piper. 523 S. – Jonathan Webber: Rethinking Existentialism. Oxford 2020: University Press. 229 S.