Existentialism - Definitional Issues

Definitional Issues

There has never been general agreement on the definition of the term. The first prominent existentialist philosopher to adopt the term as a self-description was Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism as a term, therefore, has been applied to many philosophers in hindsight. As a result, according to philosopher Steven Crowell, defining existentialism has been relatively difficult, and he argues that it is better understood as a general approach used to reject certain systematic philosophies rather than as a systematic philosophy in itself.