Existentialism, by definition, is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of free will. Simply stated, existentialism has a special regard to an individualist approach and the sense of free will. This is very different from nihilism which is defined as the rejection of all religious beliefs and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. There are several reasons why these two philosophical viewpoints contrast but, I find it difficult to understand how there could be more than one way these two things are similar. Existentialists believe in the idea of “existence proceeding essence.” This means
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However, I have come to find that there is one major way that these two approaches are similar. Both viewpoints have concluded that there is no real or true meaning to life. From an existential standpoint, there is no true meaning to life because we go our whole lives working and growing toward the person that we will end up being and use these experiences that we go through to become that person. Yet, somehow, we still all run the risk of never being fully satisfied with who we’ve become. Typically, there are a few things that we wish we could change about ourselves, just little tweaks here and there; or we wish were totally different people than who we actually are. Either way, it is easy to see why an existentialist would conclude that there is little to no meaning in life. From a Nihilistic standpoint, it is simple to see why they would conclude that life is meaningless. Nihilists discard every moral, religion, and value, and they have no faith that anything is certain. Living a life this way would make it extremely difficult to believe in any sort of meaning to life, especially if they are skeptical to the meaning of all the things around them and even themselves. Both viewpoints also share the same understanding that life and the future are both very uncertain and that there is no way to predict what is to come, destiny and faith are non-conversed topics among the two
However, I have come to find that there is one major way that these two approaches are similar. Both viewpoints have concluded that there is no real or true meaning to life. From an existential standpoint, there is no true meaning to life because we go our whole lives working and growing toward the person that we will end up being and use these experiences that we go through to become that person. Yet, somehow, we still all run the risk of never being fully satisfied with who we’ve become. Typically, there are a few things that we wish we could change about ourselves, just little tweaks here and there; or we wish were totally different people than who we actually are. Either way, it is easy to see why an existentialist would conclude that there is little to no meaning in life. From a Nihilistic standpoint, it is simple to see why they would conclude that life is meaningless. Nihilists discard every moral, religion, and value, and they have no faith that anything is certain. Living a life this way would make it extremely difficult to believe in any sort of meaning to life, especially if they are skeptical to the meaning of all the things around them and even themselves. Both viewpoints also share the same understanding that life and the future are both very uncertain and that there is no way to predict what is to come, destiny and faith are non-conversed topics among the two