Existentialism, as a philosophy, gained prominence after World War II. Instead of focusing upon a particular aspect of human existence, existentialists argued that our focus must be upon the whole being as he/she exists in the world. Rebelling against the rationalism of such philosophers as Descartes and Hegel, existentialists reject the emphasis placed on man as primarily a thinking being. Freedom is central to human existence, and human relations and encounters cannot be reduced simply to "thinking." This Dictionary provides--through alphabetically arranged entries--overviews of the various tenets, philosophers, and writers of existentialism, and of those writers/philosophers who, in retrospect, seem to existentialists to espouse their philosophy: Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoyevski, et al.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Aesthetics, Mathew Rampley; Chapter 2 Aesthetic Stage, Robert L. Perkins; Chapter 3 Alienation, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 4 Anguish, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 5 Anxiety, Constance L. Mui; Chapter 6 Appearance, William Hurst; Chapter 7 Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), Mordechai Gordon; Chapter 8 Art, Mathew Rampley; Chapter 9 Authenticity, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 10 Bad Faith, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 11 Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), Sonia Kruks; Chapter 12 Being, Rivca Gordon; Chapter 13 Being-in-the-World, John Protevi; Chapter 14 Belief, Jacob Meskin; Chapter 15 Nicolas Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874–1948), Douglas Kellogg Wood; Chapter 16 Ludwig Binswanger (1881–1966), Roger Frie; Chapter 17 Body, Constance L. Mui; Chapter 18 Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), Wayne Whitson FloydJr.; Chapter 19 Martin Buber (1878–1965), Rivca Gordon; Chapter 20 Rudolf Karl Bultmann (1884–1976), Houston Craighead; Chapter 21 Albert Camus (1913–1960), Gene Blocker; Chapter 22 Care, John Protevi; Chapter 23 Character, Abrahim H. Khan; Chapter 24 Choice, Lawrence J. Hatab; Chapter 25 Christianity, Thomas B. Ommen; Chapter 26 Community, Richard Polt; Chapter 27 Conscience, Daniel O. Dahlstrom; Chapter 28 Consciousness, Adrian Mirvish; Chapter 29 Contingency, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 30 Creativity, Doug Mann; Chapter 31 Dasein, John Protevi; Chapter 32 Death, Constance L. Mui; Chapter 33 Demythologizing, Houston Craighead; Chapter 34 Dialectical Reason, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 35 Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), Malcolm Jones; Chapter 36 Drama, Peter Royle; Chapter 37 Education, Nimrod Aloni; Chapter 38 Ego, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 39 Emotions, William Hurst; Chapter 40 Epistemology, Adrian Mirvish; Chapter 41 Eschatology, Houston Craighead; Chapter 42 Essence, Alfons Grieder; Chapter 43 Eternity, Ernest Sherman; Chapter 44 Ethical Stage, Robert L. Perkins; Chapter 45 Ethics, David Detmer; Chapter 46 Evil, David Detmer; Chapter 47 Existence, Stephen Tyman; Chapter 48 Existenz, Kurt Salamun; Chapter 49 Facticity, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 50 Faith, Daniel O. Dahlstrom; Chapter 51 Fear, Daniel O. Dalhstrom; Chapter 52 Feminism, Sylvia Walsh Perkins; Chapter 53 Freedom, Lawrence J. Hatab; Chapter 54 God, Murray A. Rae; Chapter 55 Friedrich Gogarten (1887–1967), Theodore Runyon; Chapter 56 Good, David Detmer; Chapter 57 Guilt, Peter Royle; Chapter 58 Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), John Protevi; Chapter 59 History, Doug Mann; Chapter 60 Humanism, Richard Polt; Chapter 61 Humor, John Morreall; Chapter 62 Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), Paul Gorner; Chapter 63 Ideology, Stephen Tyman; Chapter 64 Imagination, David J. Gouwens; Chapter 65 Immanence, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 66 Immortality, Sonya Sikka; Chapter 67 Roman Ingarden (1893–1970), Peter Simons; Chapter 68 Intention, William Hurst; Chapter 69 Intentionality, Peter Simons; Chapter 70 Introspection, David J. Gouwens; Chapter 71 Intuition, William Hurst; Chapter 72 Irony, Daniel Berthold-Bond; Chapter 73 Irrationalism, Peter Royle; Chapter 74 Karl Jaspers (1883–1969), Kurt Salamun; Chapter 75 Judaism, Michael Oppenheimer; Chapter 76 Franz Kafka (1883–1924), Jane Bennett; Chapter 77 Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), Robert L. Perkins; Chapter 78 Knowledge, Andrew J. Burgess; Chapter 79 Language, Mathew Rampley; Chapter 80 Leap, Peter Royle; Chapter 81 Lebenswelt, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 82 Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1996), Robert Bernasconi; Chapter 83 Liberty, Frank Schalow; Chapter 84 Life, Stuart Charme; Chapter 85 Literature, Jana Sawicki; Chapter 86 The Look, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 87 Love, Daniel Berthold-Bond; Chapter 88 Georg Lukacs (1885–1971), Ilan Gur Zeev; Chapter 89 Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973), Sonia Kruks; Chapter 90 Marxism, Frank Schalow; Chapter 91 Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961), Ernest Sherman; Chapter 92 Metaphysics, Frank Schalow; Chapter 93 Mind, William Hurst; Chapter 94 Mood, Vincent McCarthy; Chapter 95 Morality, Robert Holmes; Chapter 96 Mystery, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 97 Mysticism, Sonya Sikka; Chapter 98 Myth, Mathew Rampley; Chapter 99 Nature, W. Kim Rogers; Chapter 100 Negation, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 101 Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), Laurence Lampert; Chapter 102 Nihilism, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 103 Nothingness, Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 104 Object, Lawrence J. Hatab; Chapter 105 Ontic, John Protevi; Chapter 106 Ontology, Lawrence J. Hatab; Chapter 107 José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955), Anton Donoso; Chapter 108 Perception, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 109 Person, Richard Polt; Chapter 110 Personality, Abrahim H. Khan; Chapter 111 Phenomenology, Paul Gorner; Chapter 112 Philosophical Anthropology, Patrick Bourgeois; Chapter 113 Philosophy, Steven Emmanuel; Chapter 114 Philosophy of History, Doug Mann; Chapter 115 Philosophy of Religion, Thomas B. Ommen; Chapter 116 Poetry, Mathew Rampley; Chapter 117 Political Philosophy, Sonya Sikka; Chapter 118 Power, Stephen Tympan; Chapter 119 Process, Frank Schaow; Chapter 120 Project, Constance L. Mui; Chapter 121 Projection, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 122 Psychology and Psychotherapy, Betty Cannon; Chapter 123 Karl Rahner (1904–1984), Tom O’Meara; Chapter 124 Realism, Gary Backhaus; Chapter 125 Redemption, Georg Kovacs; Chapter 126 Relation, Kurt Salamun; Chapter 127 Religion, Georg Kovacs; Chapter 128 Religious Stage, Robert L. Perkins; Chapter 129 Resentment, Laurence Lampert; Chapter 130 Responsibility, W. Kim Rogers; Chapter 131 Revelation, Murray A. Rae; Chapter 132 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), Herbert Lehnert; Chapter 133 Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), Zeev Levy; Chapter 134 Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980), Thomas R. Flynn; Chapter 135 Sensation, W. Kim Rogers; Chapter 136 Lev Shestov (1866–1938), Peter Royle; Chapter 137 Sin, Vincent McCarthy; Chapter 138 Situation, Stephen Tyman; Chapter 139 Society, Rivca Gordon; Chapter 140 Solipsism, Robert Richmond Ellis; Chapter 141 Space, William Hurst; Chapter 142 Spirit, Stephen Tyman; Chapter 143 Subject, Lawrence J. Hatab; Chapter 144 Suicide, Stuart Charme; Chapter 145 Superman, Laurence Lampert; Chapter 146 Teleology, Gail Weiss; Chapter 147 Theology, Thomas B. Ommen; Chapter 148 They, John Protevi; Chapter 149 Thrownness, John Protevi; Chapter 150 Paul Tillich (1886–1965), Jeff Owen Prudhomme; Chapter 151 Time, Phyllis Kenevan; Chapter 152 Transcendence, Gail Weiss; Chapter 153 Truth, Alfons Grieder; Chapter 154 Miguel De Unamuno Y Jugo (1864–1936), Robert Richmond Ellis; Chapter 155 Unconscious, Stuart Charme; Chapter 156 Value, David Detmer; Chapter 157 We, Peter Royle; Chapter 158 Wholeness, Richard Polt; Chapter 159 Will, Stephen Tyman; Chapter 160 Wisdom, Mark Peterson; Chapter 161 World, W. Kim Rogers; Chapter 162 Zarathustra, Laurence Lampert;