Continental Philosophy

Existentialism is a school of philosophy with the concepts that human beings have a set of basic emotional attributes, such as the ability of the individual to practice free will and make individual decisions, the ability of the individual to practice self discipline with the help of society and laws (All about Philosophy, 2009). There are six main principles in existentialism. First, philosophy is aseptic and removed from the burdens of everyday life. Second, philosophy is obliged to concentrate on the person and the person's interaction with humanity and the world around them. Third, in philosophical thought, humanity and the world around us are demented. Fourth, there is no analytical meaning for why the world and humanity exists. Fifth, feelings of "Senselessness, emptiness, triviality, separation and inability to communicate pervade human existence, giving birth to anxiety, dread, self-doubt and despair" (Bruder & Moore, 2005). Finally, each human being decides how he or she will live and survive in this preposterous and demented existence (Bruder & Moore, 2005).

There are four major contributors to existentialism. These key contributors were Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Albert Camus (1913-1960) and Jean-Paul Satre (1905-1980). Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche opposed Hegelian idealism and reason as it applies to a balanced and calm universe. Albert Camus stressed the illogicality of the world we live in and humanities inadequacy and the need for each person to meet his or her human needs. Jean-Paul Satre stressed the importance "abandonment and its implications" (Bruder & Moore, 2005).