| 释义 |
existentialism Philos.|ɛgzɪˈstɛnʃəlɪz(ə)m|
[ad. G. existentialismus (see below), f. existential a. + -ism.]
A doctrine that concentrates on the existence of the individual, who, being free and responsible, is held to be what he makes himself by the self-development of his essence through acts of the will (which, in the Christian form of the theory, leads to God).
The existentialist movement was mainly originated by the Danish writer Søren Kierkegaard (1813–55), who frequently used the term Existents-forhold ‘condition of existence, existential relation’. It was developed in the 20th c. chiefly in continental Europe by Jaspers, Sartre, and others, and the Eng. word existentialism answers to G. existentialismus, which is first recorded in 1919 (see below).
[1846Kierkegaard Afsluttende Uvidenskabelig Efterskrift in Wks. (1902) VII. ii. ii. 62 Den existerende subjective Tænker er i sit Existents-Forhold til Sandheden ligesaa negativ som positiv. 1849R. Nielsen J. Climacus og H. Martensens Christelige Dogmatik 126 Thi det skal vist Ingen negte, at der i denne Dogmatik forefindes en Mængde Grundsætninger ‘Speculationen’ og det religiøse ‘Existentialforhold’ betræffende. 1919W. Moog Logik, Psychologie und Psychologismus ii. 195 Der Relativismus..ist in der Regel auch ein Existentialismus, das heisst, er behauptet die Abhängigkeit des Logischen vom Existierenden. Ibid. 231 Die Fiktion ist nach Husserl..‘das Lebenselement der Phänomenologie’..des Existentialismus. Ibid. 195 Wie der Fiktionalismus auf existentialistischen Voraussetzungen beruht.] 1941J. Kraft in Philos. & Phenomenol. Res. I. 345 Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and pragmatism are examples of real or possible starting points of existentialism, capable of being multiplied by further examples. Ibid. 357 The philosophy of existence is philosophizing only what the practice of the time realizes: the frenzy connected with the conjuring up of highest meanings. The authoritarian thoughts of existentialism are only a dissonant accompanying music to the authoritarian acts under which man in the twentieth century groans. 1944Ibid. V. 127 Existentialism or existential philosophy..is the extreme attempt to find a meaning in the existence of modern man whose philosophy and science originated in the will to make himself, through knowledge, the master of the world and whose philosophy and science have ended in a complete nihilism. 1945Harper's Mag. Sept. 270/2 Sartre's existentialism is profoundly pessimistic, but in the colloquial sense that the human lot is an absurd and unhappy one, rather than in the formal sense that man is ‘by nature’ evil... In his view..no ‘Human Nature’ transcends the actual, which is composed of infinitely diverse existences. 1948Mind LVII. 258 What is Existentialism? Historically speaking it is a philosophy of will that stems from that unhappy Danish genius, Soren Kirkegaard. 1957H. Read Tenth Muse xix. 168 That is existentialist dogma, but it is also the romantic dogma, and existentialism is nowadays the philosophical aspect of romanticism. 1957Observer 8 Sept. 6/4 We asked Miss Greco what Existentialism implied. Apparently its essence is summed up by ‘whatever you do, you become’. 1958W. Barrett Irrational Man i. 7 Existentialism was a literary movement as well. 1961N. Mailer Advts. for Myself 91 Willy-nilly I had had existentialism forced upon me. 1965Eng. Studies XLVI. 390 If we define Existentialism as the belief that man is born into an alien..universe..then..Melville must be recognized as America's first existentialist writer. 1967A. MacIntyre in Encycl. Philos. III. 147/2 Existentialism may perhaps be considered most fruitfully as a historical movement in which connections of dependence and influence can be traced from one writer to another... The key themes are the individual and systems; intentionality; being and absurdity; the nature and significance of choice; the role of extreme experiences; and the nature of communication. |