Stoics have nothing against existentialism quotes. While both come from the Western philosophy branch, existentialism focuses on the idea that existence is subjective. Every one of us will have a different experience while living in the world, and thus we will have to choose different paths. Where stoics try to view the world from a more positive and realistic perspective, existentialists take a more pessimistic stance. Existential quotes focus on the anxiety and the idea that you are in charge of your own life, even if it is absurd and dreadful.
Even the most simple existentialism quote tries to highlight the idea that the individual is in control and not the universe. These kinds of ideas gained a lot of popularity after World War 2 ended. The ideas emphasized that we get thrown into this world and can’t say where and when we arrive, but we can choose how we live. Existentialism philosophy highlights that the person has to choose what to do and create meaning in his life. Philosophers like Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and more have expanded this school of thought.
If you are tired of stoic philosophy, then quotes about life through the eyes of an existentialist might be what you are looking for. In the list below, we put the most mind-opening and thought-provoking quotes for you to read up on. Upvote the quotes that you found to be the most interesting. If you have a saying you want to share, do so in the comments below. However, if deep life quotes have you feeling pessimistic, check out some positive ones we have compiled before.
#1
"If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life." - Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Report35points
#2
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." - Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Report35points
#3
"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." - Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Report30points
#4
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced." - Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Report30points
#5
"We are all born mad. Some remain so." - Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Report30points
#6
"Do you think that I count days? There is one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk." - Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Report28points
#7
"I hate victims who respect their executioners." - Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Report28points
#8
"We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing." - Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Report27points
#9
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Report23points
#10
"Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order." - Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Report19points
#11
"I took a test in Existentialism. I left all the answers blank and got 100." - Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Report16points
#12
"It is necessary to fall in love...if only to provide an alibi for all the random despair you are going to feel anyway." - Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Report16points
#13
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Report16points
#14
"Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth." - Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Report15points
#15
"We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts, we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do." - Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse
Report14points
#16
"No one can advise and help you, no one. There is only one way: go within." - Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
Report14points
#17
"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." - Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Report14points
#18
"Life begins on the other side of despair." - Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Report12points
#19
"One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Report12points
#20
"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." - Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Report11points