1.The historical background: not only the period, but explain what happened that led to these new ideas.
Existentialism focuses on matters such as choice, individuality, subjectivity, freedom, and the nature of existence itself. The initial existential ideology first put forward by Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Martin Heidegger, but it was widely popularized in the 20th century by French philosopher and writer Sartre. The reason why existentialism became so popular at that time was inseparably intertwined with the social environment--- after the first world war, the city was destroyed, countless people became homeless, the entire social vibe was negative and pessimistic, and people began to question their religions; they found that their Gods…show more content… Existence precedes essence.
The idea that Existence precedes Essence is that –there is no predefined pattern that people must fit into, and people must exist before creating their own values and meanings. People can not be predefined because they are initially nothing, but in the process of growing up, he/she would make many choices that create his/her life meaningful. People choose what they should live that defines what they truly are.
3. Choice
Existentialism addresses that the only way people can define themselves is through making choices in many aspects in their lives, and then taking responsibility for what they choose.
People have absolute freedom to choose what they are and who they will be. The meaning of being a certain person is based on the choices he/she makes in his/her life. Nobody is born to be a criminal, a rapist, or a killer, but it is his /her choices that make him/her a criminal, a rapist and a killer. Through the choice people make, people would realize that how much freedom they have.
4. Absurdism/The absurd
Absurdism as a belief system which means that trying to live a life of meaning and purpose in this world is useless because there's not such thing. There is no God and rule that human being can actually based on to judge themselves whether their lives are rational or
