---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Existentialism is a 'movement' which like…"
description: "\"“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That center is the thought of Heidegger.”\" — Le..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg"
---

#  Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such…

![“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That center is the thought of Heidegger.” quote by Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg)

> ““Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That center is the thought of Heidegger.””

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Existentialism has a vague outer layer but a solid core centered on Heidegger's ideas.

**In simple terms:** Existentialism’s core is Heidegger.

Key Takeaway

Focus on Heidegger’s core.

Themes

philosophy existentialism intellectual history

Mood

analytical critical

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- academic study
- personal reflection
- teaching philosophy

Key Concepts

Heideggerian thought movement analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- What is the “hard center” of existentialism for you?
- How does Heidegger influence modern thought?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify diverse existentialist perspectives.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Center Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-thought-710642/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Existentialism Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism-movement-710640/) [Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heidegger/) [Thought Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-heidegger-710641/)

## Related quotes

> [“Couples will no longer spend their nights in their houses dedicated to habitation and reception, the customary social reason for banalization. The chamber of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mcdonough/couples-will-no-longer-spend-their-nights-in-their-houses-dedicated/)

[Tom McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-mcdonough/)

> [But why should a religious person be interested in a work like Heidegger's that many regard as the epitome of nihilism? For a start,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/but-why-should-a-religious-person-be-interested-in-a-work-like/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [In the doctrine of the world and humankind as 'will to power and nothing else', Heidegger identified not an antidote to nihilism, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/in-the-doctrine-of-the-world-and-humankind-as-will-to-power-and/)

[David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/)

> [ To avert the danger \[posed by theory\] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-life-nietzsche-could-choose/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [The contemporary rejection of natural right leads to nihilism — nay, it is identical with nihilism,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-contemporary-rejection-of-natural-right-leads-to-nihilism-nay-it/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [“The funny thing about time in the OR, whether you race frenetically or proceed steadily, is that you have no sense of it passing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/the-funny-thing-about-time-in-the-or-whether-you-race-frenetically-or/)

[Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/)

> [“Curiosity is everywhere and nowhere. This mode of Being-in-the-world reveals a new kind of Being of everyday Dasein―a kind in which Dasein is constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/curiosity-is-everywhere-and-nowhere-this-mode-of-being-in-the-world/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [“But how does it come about that while the ‘I think’ gives Kant a genuine phenomenal starting-point, he cannot exploit it ontologically, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/but-how-does-it-come-about-that-while-the-i-think-gives-kant-a/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [ I think he \[Heidegger\] sets the question up in a useful way and, despite appearances, he's not 'against' technology. He just wants us to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/i-think-he-heidegger-sets-the-question-up-in-a-useful-way-and-despite/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [“One of the ways that Heidegger radicalizes Kant is by showing the “subject” to be active in multiple ways rather than limiting it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/one-of-the-ways-that-heidegger-radicalizes-kant-is-by-showing-the/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“It is perhaps permissible here to draw attention to a distinction made by Martin Heidegger, who speaks of the duality of calculating and reflective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/it-is-perhaps-permissible-here-to-draw-attention-to-a-distinction/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

> [For Heidegger, boredom is a privileged fundamental mood because it leads us directly into the very problem complex of being and time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-heidegger-boredom-is-a-privileged-fundamental-mood-because-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Heidegger wrote a book called Was Ist Das Ding - What Is a Thing? which was kind of interesting and influential to me, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/heidegger-wrote-a-book-called-was-ist-das-ding-what-is-a-thing-which/)

[Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/)

> [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [“Heidegger connects the linchpin of the Kantian Paradigm—A5 Active Knower, that is, the idea that the subject organizes experience—to what he considers to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/heidegger-connects-the-linchpin-of-the-kantian-paradigm-a5-active/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

## More by Leo Strauss

> [A conservative, I take it, is a man who despises vulgarity; but the argument which is concerned exclusively with calculations of success, and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/a-conservative-i-take-it-is-a-man-who-despises-vulgarity-but-the/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [Men are constantly attracted and deluded by two opposite charms: the charm of competence which is engendered by mathematics and everything akin to mathematics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/men-are-constantly-attracted-and-deluded-by-two-opposite-charms-the/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [“But what is the core of the political? Men killing men on the largest scale in broad daylight and with the greatest serenity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/but-what-is-the-core-of-the-political-men-killing-men-on-the-largest/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [“Todo ser humano y toda sociedad es lo que es en virtud de su máxima aspiración. La ciudad, si es sana, aspira no a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/todo-ser-humano-y-toda-sociedad-es-lo-que-es-en-virtud-de-su-m-xima/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [“Only a great fool would call the new political science diabolic: it has no attributes peculiar to fallen angels. It is not even Machiavellian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/only-a-great-fool-would-call-the-new-political-science-diabolic-it/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [We somehow believe that our point of view is superior, higher than those of the greatest minds either because our point of view is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/we-somehow-believe-that-our-point-of-view-is-superior-higher-than/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [ The emancipation of the scholars and scientists from philosophy is according to \[Nietzsche\] only a part of the democratic movement, i.e. of the emancipation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-emancipation-of-the-scholars-and-scientists-from-philosophy-is/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [The most superficial fact regarding the 'Discourses,' the fact that the number of its chapters equals the number of books of Livy's 'History,' compelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-most-superficial-fact-regarding-the-discourses-the-fact-that-the/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [If the highest things are unknowable, then the highest capacity or virtue of man cannot be theoretical wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/if-the-highest-things-are-unknowable-then-the-highest-capacity-or/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [History teaches us that a given view has been abandoned in favor of another by all men, or by all competent men, or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/history-teaches-us-that-a-given-view-has-been-abandoned-in-favor-of/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [No bloody or unbloody change of society can eradicate the evil in man: as long as there will be men, there will be malice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/no-bloody-or-unbloody-change-of-society-can-eradicate-the-evil-in-man/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [Liberal education, which consists in the constant intercourse with the greatest minds, is a training in the highest form of modesty. ... It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/liberal-education-which-consists-in-the-constant-intercourse-with-the/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [Education to perfect gentlemanship, to human excellence, liberal education consists in reminding oneself of human excellence, of human greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/education-to-perfect-gentlemanship-to-human-excellence-liberal/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [The contemporary rejection of natural right leads to nihilism — nay, it is identical with nihilism,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-contemporary-rejection-of-natural-right-leads-to-nihilism-nay-it/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

> [When speaking of a "body of knowledge" or of "the results of research," e.g., we tacitly assign the same cognitive status to inherited knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/when-speaking-of-a-body-of-knowledge-or-of-the-results-of-research-e/)

[Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

[Explore all 55 Leo Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/)

## More Existentialism quotes

> [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

> [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/)

[Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/)

> [“People may have to die, but morbidity will live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/people-may-have-to-die-but-morbidity-will-live-forever/)

[Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/)

> [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/)

[Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/)

> [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [“If we are unable to tolerate ourselves when we are alone, how can we expect anyone else to be enriched by our company? Before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-corey/if-we-are-unable-to-tolerate-ourselves-when-we-are-alone-how-can-we/)

[Gerald Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-corey/)

> [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/)

[Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/)

> [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

[Browse all 984 Existentialism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That center is the thought of Heidegger.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Leo Strauss"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like-all-such-movements-has-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Existentialism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like-all-such-movements-has-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/leo-strauss-12446_existentialism_existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like_1656373.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That…” — Leo Strauss",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Leo Strauss",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like-all-such-movements-has-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like-all-such-movements-has-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```