Absurdism vs. Existentialism

Absurdismnoun

A philosophy which holds that the universe is chaotic and irrational and that any attempt to impose order will ultimately fail.

Absurdismnoun

(countable) Absurdity, something that is absurd

Absurdism

In philosophy, refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find these with any certainty. The universe and the human mind do not each separately cause the Absurd; rather, the Absurd arises by the contradictory nature of the two existing simultaneously.

Existentialismnoun

A twentieth-century philosophical movement emphasizing the uniqueness of each human existence in freely making its self-defining choices.

Existentialismnoun

The philosophical views of a particular thinker associated with the existentialist movement.

Existentialismnoun

a philosophical theory or attitude having various interpretations, generally emphasising the existence of the individual as a unique agent with free will and responsibility for his or her own acts, though living in a universe devoid of any certain knowledge of right and wrong; from one's plight as a free agent with uncertain guidelines may arise feelings of anguish. Existentialism is concerned more with concrete existence rather than abstract theories of essences; is contrasted with rationalism and empiricism; and is associated with Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre, as well as others.

Existentialismnoun

(philosophy) a 20th-century philosophical movement; assumes that people are entirely free and thus responsible for what they make of themselves

Existentialism

Existentialism ( or ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the experience of thinking, feeling, and acting. In the view of the existentialist, the individual's starting point has been called a sense of dread, disorientation, confusion, or anxiety in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.