Phenomenology & Existentialism Vocabulary

the directedness of consciousness toward objects

“Husserl identified intentionality as the key feature of consciousness.”

Origin: Latin intentio 'a stretching out, attention' from intendere 'to stretch toward'

Heidegger's term for human existence as 'being-there'

“Dasein is always already thrown into a world of meaning.”

Origin: German Dasein 'existence, presence' from da 'there' + sein 'to be'

the inseparability of human existence from its environment

“Being-in-the-world means we cannot be understood apart from our context.”

Origin: Translation of German In-der-Welt-sein (Heidegger)

living according to one's own values rather than conforming

“Authenticity requires confronting our mortality and finitude.”

Origin: Greek authentikos 'original, genuine' from authentes 'one acting on one's own authority'

existential anxiety arising from awareness of freedom and mortality

“Kierkegaard saw angst as the dizziness of freedom.”

Origin: German Angst 'fear, anxiety' from Old High German angust

the conflict between human search for meaning and a meaningless universe

“Camus embraced absurdism: we must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

Origin: Latin absurdus 'out of tune, incongruous' from ab 'away from' + surdus 'deaf, dull'

self-deception about one's freedom and responsibility

“The waiter who denies his freedom acts in bad faith.”

Origin: Translation of French mauvaise foi (Sartre)

the condition of finding oneself already in a particular situation

“Thrownness means we don't choose our historical circumstances.”

Origin: Translation of German Geworfenheit (Heidegger)

the pre-reflective world of everyday lived experience

“Science abstracts from the lifeworld that makes it possible.”

Origin: Translation of German Lebenswelt (Husserl)

the concrete facts of one's existence that limit possibility

“Facticity includes our body, past, and social situation.”

Origin: German Faktizitat from Latin factum 'deed, act'