Word of the Day: Existentialist.

An Existentialist is someone who believes in Existential Philosophies. These are sentiments which express that a person's meaning or existence, is derived from them selves. That is to say that we determine our own destinies through our choices and nothing is predetermined. To put it another way an existentialist would not support the idea of a destiny at all unless it was express as one which has been chosen for ones self. An existentialist would ponder the meaning of the their existence through the consequences of their actions. Their current circumstance would be thought of as a consequence of a previous decision and there for not an external influence. A genetic disposition would be considered an external influence and there for not responsible for ones predicament.

An existentialist philosophy can be a fragile one as all meaning is derived from the self. By deciding that ones existence is meaningless, once has created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"As Sartre puts it in his Existentialism is a Humanism: "man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards." Of course, the more positive, therapeutic aspect of this is also implied: You can choose to act in a different way, and to be a good person instead of a cruel person. Here it is also clear that since man can choose to be either cruel or good, he is, in fact, neither of these things essentially."
-Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-158591-6.

The following is and excerpt from Here

Existentialism is defined by the slogan Existence precedes Essence. This means:

1. We have no predetermined nature or essence that controls what we are, what we do, or what is valuable for us.

2. We are radically free to act independently of determination by outside influences.

3. We create our own human nature through these free choices.

4. We also create our values through these choices.

The Picture at the top can be found here