The next literature ism is the most difficult to define. The beliefs ofexistentialism are that mankind has free will, life is a series of choices that createstress, few decisions are without any negative consequences, some things areirrational without explanation, and the one the makes the decision must follow throughon, his or her, decision (Existentialism: An Introduction). Existentialism is typicallythought to be have brought about by Kierkegaard (Existentialism- Phenomenology).Kiekegaard was a critic of the Christian churches of his day, which he felt contributed tothe forgetfulness of existence (Existentialism- Phenomenology). By existenceKiekegaard meant that the human being was cast into an unfinished world and theindividual was responsible for his or her choice (Existentialism- Phenomenology).Kiekegaard believed that human beings had the free choice, and the choice was madein the face of the unknown and lead to recognition that one's choices our one's own,despite the fact that one can never know for certain whether these choices will bear outin the end (Existentialism- Phenomenology). Kiekegaard held great contempt forthose who relied on the crowd to take responsibility for individual choice(Existentialism- Phenomenology). According to Kiekegaard, one must answer to Godas an individual, apart from the crowd (Existentialism- Phenomenology). Somewell-known thinkers that helped establish this brand of thought were FreidrichNietzsche, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Karl Marx (Existentialism- Phenomenology). The are certain characteristics that all existentialist share. They are that they areobsessed with how to live ones live and believe that philosophical and psychologicalinquiry can help (Corbett). They believe that all human beings must answer questionsabout their existence such as about death, the meaning of life, the place of God inexistence, the meaning of value, interpersonal relationships, and the place of sel...
