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What Is Existential Angst?

Alan Rankin
Alan Rankin

Existential angst is a condition of dread or anxiety that is related to the philosophy known as existentialism. Existentialism is the belief that life has no meaning other than what people bring to it. All people thus have the freedom to choose any action, as well as the responsibility of accepting the consequences of that action. It is precisely this freedom and responsibility that causes existential angst. Moral people, existentialists argue, can have no other sensible response to the terrible burdens of their choices.

The English word “angst” derives from the same Latin root as “anguish” and “anxiety,” and conveys a similar meaning. The word has roughly the same definition and spelling in German, Dutch and the Scandinavian languages. The concept of existential angst was first explored by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard in his 1844 book Begrebet Angest, or The Concept of Anxiety. Kierkegaard was a pioneer of existentialist thought, which he saw as an extension of his spiritual and moral beliefs. A century later, the philosophy was embraced by many European intellectuals who were disillusioned by the battles and genocides they had witnessed in the world wars.

Existential angst can be a feeling of despair about life's purposelessness.
Existential angst can be a feeling of despair about life's purposelessness.

Kierkegaard’s classic example of existential angst was to describe a man standing on the edge of a high cliff or building. Along with the fear of accidentally falling, the man feels an irrational impulse to deliberately fling himself over the edge. The emotion he feels upon realizing that he has this option is angst. Kierkegaard described it as “the dizziness of freedom.” He saw it as the burden of making moral choices as a consequence of free will.

To philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, existential angst was a natural consequence of the freedom to make horrible decisions.
To philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, existential angst was a natural consequence of the freedom to make horrible decisions.

The existentialists of the 1940s, such as French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, sometimes did not share Kierkegaard’s belief in God and a higher order. Life seemed to have no overriding meaning or order, other than what was created by human beings. This added new and often bleak dimensions to existential angst. Sartre’s play No Exit, perhaps the most famous work of existentialist literature, involves people trapped in a grim afterlife as a result of their poor choices. To philosophers such as Sartre, existential angst was a natural consequence of the freedom to make such horrible choices.

Existential angst is common for teens who feel stuck between childhood and adulthood.
Existential angst is common for teens who feel stuck between childhood and adulthood.

Existential angst is not always a cause for despair, however. Kierkegaard argued that it also made it possible for people to set boundaries and make moral choices. Despite this, angst is the best known aspect of existentialism, and is often invoked when the philosophy is discussed or parodied in the popular media. Filmmaker Woody Allen, playwright Tom Stoppard, and the Monty Python comedy troupe have all spoofed existentialist beliefs in their plays and films. The parody newspaper The Onion ran a series of articles in the early 2000s in which science “proved” that life was meaningless, prompting existential angst-filled quotes from fictional members of the American public.

Discussion Comments

anon1002313

This happens when the individual does not have focus control in the mind as most people. The greater negatives will always motivate the individual, but if there is no positive to neutralize it, then the negative will grow, resulting in anxiety and/or depression. All starts with focus control.

anon1002219

Mine is the extreme fear of death and the thought once I am gone then I will truly be gone. And in the distant future the universe itself will cease to exist and nothing really matters. Woody Allen frequently mentions this, especially in Hannah and her Sisters. The sense of being totally snuffed out is so terribly frightening.

bythewell

@browncoat - I wonder if people back in the old days ever had thoughts like this. I guess they often had such an established hierarchy of people and then of religious icons that they never really felt like they didn't know where they stood in the world.

browncoat

@KoiwiGal - I remember going through that. I don't think it was so much because of realizing my parents were fallible though. It was just that I suddenly started looking out and realized how very small everything was. Nothing I would do would ever matter to the universe, because the universe was so large. I just didn't see the point to it all.

If anything, it was the philosophy behind existentialism that comforted me in the end. The fact that it was possible to make your own meaning and that there are no absolutes except what you create in your own life somehow made sense to me.

KoiwiGal

I think this is the kind of depression that hits a lot of teenagers at one point or another, because it is so strongly related to the idea that right and wrong are subjective, and it can occur when a kid realizes his parents aren't an absolute moral barometer.

When he or she realizes that, their whole world might suddenly seem built on unsafe ground, because they may have been basing most of their moral decisions on what their parents believed or how they acted.

And if they aren't right, then who is? I think at this point a lot of kids turn to something else, like religion or maybe a particular musician or political stance, just because it gives them something to refer to when they aren't sure about whether an action is right or wrong.

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    • Existential angst can be a feeling of despair about life's purposelessness.
      By: Khorzhevska
      Existential angst can be a feeling of despair about life's purposelessness.
    • To philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, existential angst was a natural consequence of the freedom to make horrible decisions.
      To philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, existential angst was a natural consequence of the freedom to make horrible decisions.
    • Existential angst is common for teens who feel stuck between childhood and adulthood.
      By: Monkey Business
      Existential angst is common for teens who feel stuck between childhood and adulthood.
    • Someone who has existential angst may have trouble sleeping at night.
      By: stefanolunardi
      Someone who has existential angst may have trouble sleeping at night.