Document Type : Research Paper
Author
M.A., Western Philosophy, Tehran University, Qom College
Abstract
Existentialism is one of the philosophical schools which covers a great part of the contemporary philosophy. Existentialist philosophers reflect upon man's being in a way other than the being of other entities; and accurately label this distinction of man's being as "existence". They are seeking to show the difference between man's being or existence in this world and [being of] other entities. Inevitably, they have to research in the way and form that man is in this world as well as his states and Existential issues. Though this approach has been focus of the thinkers of that time and after it, Soren Kierkegaard, with his basically religious reflection as opposed to logical philosophy and rational principles of Hegel, may be called the founder of Existentialism; and Gabriel Marcel, Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Jean Paul Sartre may be enlisted as its main representatives.
The notable point is that philosophers of existance avoided systematization and did not provide a systematic philosophy. Though philosophical ideas in this extensive field are so diverse that it has produced some misunderstandings, because of the common way of philosophizing and their emphasis put on man instead of nature, they are classified under "Existentialist" category.
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