Existentialism Quotes

181 quotes by 95 authors

Il n'y a de rÃ©alitÃ© que dans l'action. (There is no reality except in action.) — Jean-Paul Sartre
Life's a freaking mess. In fact, I'm going to tell Sarah we need to start a new philosophical movement: messessentialism instead of existentialism: For those… — Jandy Nelson
Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level. — Ernest Becker
A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. — Rollo May
There can be no stronger proof of the impoverishment of our contemporary culture than the popular - though profoundly mistaken - definition of myth as… — Rollo May
Indeed, compulsive and rigid moralism arises in given persons precisely as the result of a lack of sense of being. Rigid moralism is a compensatory… — Rollo May
No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse. — Friedrich Nietzsche
the best existential analysis of the human condition leads directly into the problems of God and faith — Ernest Becker
The desire for a strong faith is not the proof of a strong faith, rather the opposite. If one has it one may permit oneself… — Friedrich Nietzsche
One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him. — Rollo May
When we are dealing with human beings, no truth has reality by itself; it is always dependent upon the reality of the immediate relationship. — Rollo May
There can be no question of holding forth on ethics. I have seen people behave badly with great morality and I note every day that… — Albert Camus
Artistic symbols and myths speak out of the primordial, preconscious realm of the mind which is powerful and chaotic. Both symbol and myth are ways… — Rollo May
Today, however, we are having a hard time living because we are so bent on outwitting death. — Simone de Beauvoir
man is free, in so far as he has the power of contradicting himself and his essential nature. Man is free even from his freedom;… — Paul Tillich
A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied. And it is not true that the recognition of the freedom of others… — Simone de Beauvoir
Words are but symbols for the relations of things to one another and to us; nowhere do they touch upon absolute truth.... Through words and… — Friedrich Nietzsche
Good art wounds as well as delights. It must, because our defenses against the truth are wound so tightly around us. But as art chips… — Rollo May
Sometimes I think it is my mission to bring faith to the faithless, and doubt to the faithful. — Paul Tillich
The misfortune is that although everyone must come to [death], each experiences the adventure in solitude. We never left Maman during those last days... and… — Simone de Beauvoir

Who Wrote These Existentialism Quotes

95 authors contributed a total of 181 Existentialism Quotes, led by these top contributors: