Existentialism has long been a source of wisdom, insight, and inspiration for many people. Thought-provoking existentialism quotes encourage us to reflect on the meaning of life and the experiences we have within it. Here is a collection of some of the most profound existentialism quotes that capture the essence of this philosophy and its profound effects.
Powerful existentialism quotes provide some of the most profound, inspiring, and thought-provoking insights into life and the human experience. Whether you’re looking for a pithy phrase to think on or a deep meditation on the meaning of life, best existentialism quotes can provide a fresh perspective and help bring clarity to your understanding of the world.
Best Existentialism Quotes
You must be afraid, my son. That is how one becomes an honest citizen. Jean-Paul Sartre
If we possess a why of life we can put up with almost any how.
Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal. Jean-Paul Sartre
Justice is a human issue, and I do not need a god to teach it to me. Jean-Paul Sartre
According to Nietzsche every individual must form his/her own identity through self-realisation, and learning through self-inquiry rather than relying on God or a soul.
Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.
In Beckett was conferred with the Nobel Prize in Literature for his exemplary work in the field of literature, drama, and arts. His wife Suzanne called the award a “catastrophe as her solitude loving husband would be haunted by paparazzi from then on.
For an occurrence to become an adventure, it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it. Jean-Paul Sartre
Everything has been figured out, except how to live. Jean-Paul Sartre
I feel as if I were a piece in a game of chess, when my opponent says of it: That piece cannot be moved.
Words are more treacherous and powerful than we think. Jean-Paul Sartre
No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.
Existence precedes and rules essence. Jean-Paul Sartre
My mistakes are my life.
We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are – that is the fact. Jean-Paul Sartre
Beckett was a man with many talents, he juggled between playwriting, theatre, direction, poetry, short story writing, and literary translation. He was fluent in both French and English, and finessed his craft in both languages.
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.
Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance. Jean-Paul Sartre
The only sin is the sin of being born
The end is in the beginning and yet you go on.
I do not believe in God; his existence has been disproved by Science. But in the concentration camp, I learned to believe in men. Jean-Paul Sartre
“Once you label me you negate me.
Friedrich Nietzsche’s Existential Views:
Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.
Also read: The Art of Absorbing: How to Soak Positivity like a Sponge
Nietzsche’s work had a great influence on modern intellectual history. Before changing his career path towards philosophy, Nietzsche worked as a classical philologist.
Irish novelist Samuel Barclay Beckett ( April – December ) lauded for his literary gem ‘Waiting for Godot’ is considered as one of the last modernist writers.
One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil.
The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.
All modern philosophizing is political, policed by governments, churches, academics, custom, fashion, and human cowardice, all off which limit it to a fake learnedness.
Beckett’s work at large focuses on the themes of existentialism like facticity, despair, freedom, and authenticity.
Through his psychological analysis, Nietzsche introduced original theories about the nature of self, and provocative proposals suggesting new values to bring a cultural renewal.
Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order.
What is a poet? An unhappy person who conceals profound anguish in his heart but whose lips are so formed that he sighs and cries pass over them they sound like beautiful music.
When you need a little motivation and inspiration, famous self-control quotes will turn your day around and boost your mood.
Famous Existentialism Quotes
It was completely fruitless to quarrel with the world, whereas the quarrel with oneself was occasionally fruitful and always, she had to admit, interesting.
The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc – is sure to be noticed.
Although Beckett didn’t devote much time to interviews, but he seldom met artists, scholars, and admirers in the anonymous lobby of the Hotel PLM St. Jacques in Paris, near the author’s home.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ( October – August ) was a coveted German philosopher, essayist, cultural critic, poet, and philologist. At age , he became the youngest person ever to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in .
Samuel Beckett’s Existential Philosophy:
As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become. Jean-Paul Sartre
A man who as a physical being is always turned toward the outside, thinking that his happiness lies outside him, finally turns inward and discovers that the source is within him.
If I became a philosopher, if I have so keenly sought this fame for which I’m still waiting, it’s all been to seduce women basically. Jean-Paul Sartre
He was one of the main and famed writers, whose work was the centerpiece of Martin Esslin’s “Theatre of the Absurd, which focused on existentialism themes.
About Friedrich Nietzsche (Author of Thus Spoke Zarathustra):
Nietzsche battled with health problems throughout his life, and hit rock bottom when he suffered a collapse at age , which left him mentally impaired. After which, he continued living under the care of his mother and sister, and finally said goodbye on August , .
If you are lonely when you’re alone, you are in bad company. Jean-Paul Sartre
Better to die on one’s feet than to live on one’s knees. Jean-Paul Sartre
Being is. Being is in-itself. Being is what it is. Jean-Paul Sartre
Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now. No, I wouldn’t want them back.
There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet.
Regarding life, the wisest men of all ages have judged alike: it is worthless.
Nietzsche’s opposed the belief that there is a universal truth, which is true for every living being, and even time. He believed that what is true for us, might be untrue from another person’s perspective, backing the philosophical idea known as perspectivism.
Hell is other people. Jean-Paul Sartre
Since my earliest childhood a barb of sorrow has lodged in my heart. As long as it stays I am ironic if it is pulled out I shall die.
People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.
Evil is the product of the ability of humans to make abstract that which is concrete. Jean-Paul Sartre
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 the beautiful luxury of skepticism: one is secure enough, fixed enough for it.
In the consciousness of the truth he has perceived, man now sees everywhere only the awfulness or the absurdity of existence and loathing seizes him.
It is only in our decisions that we are important. Jean-Paul Sartre
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true, the other is to refuse to believe what is true.
Words are loaded pistols. Jean-Paul Sartre
The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.
Man is fully responsible for his nature and his choices. Jean-Paul Sartre
Life begins on the other side of despair. Jean-Paul Sartre
Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.
Which he believed would improve social, and psychological life of humans. And will be a better living model as compared to the traditional value system, that he opposed.
We do not judge the people we love. Jean-Paul Sartre
All human actions are equivalent and all are on principle doomed to failure. Jean-Paul Sartre