Basis of Existential Thought The Essence of the World Is Unknowable
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Existentialism is the philosophy born from the chaos and destruction of the great World Wars. The term is impossible to define precisely. It is a vague concept and so is difficult to define straightforwardly. Existentialism was a philosophical movement that developed in continental Europe during the 1800's and 1900's. Most of the members were interested in the nature of existence or being, by which they usually mean human existence.
Although the philosophers generally considered being existentialists often disagree with each other and sometimes even resent being classified together, they have been grouped together because they share the many problems, interests, and ideas concerning the understanding that the 'essence of the world is unknowable'. The most prominent existentialist thinkers of the 1900's include the writers such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sarte, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche and Soren Kierkegaard.
The inception of existentialism came at a time when people initially became interested and wondered about things that challenged the common beliefs of the Church, State and most importantly, the individual. People wondered about the existence of God and came up with unanswerable questions such as, Does God exist? If so, is he cruel?..