Existentialism

Existentialism can trace its roots back to the post World War II Europe of the 1940s and 50s. It is a philosophy that champions "the analysis of existence and... the way humans find themselves existing in the world."

Existentialists, such as Jean-Paul Sartre (progenitor of existentialism's international fame), Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus, constructed the framework of the philosophical ideal by championing free will and personal responsibility. Ultimately, existentialists search for the rhyme and reason of what they are and where they're from from within their own life experiences, within their viewpoint on life. They do not feel the need for objectivity or happiness - it is not necessary. Moreover, the existentialist believes that a person should be made to take responsibility for himself, yet, paradoxically, do so inherently and without the structure of law or rule.

Basically, existentialist ideology posits that humans are thrown into the world without predetermined fates or any set rules on any particular psychological natures. We, as individuals, construct our emotions, psyches and fates through the actions that we take in life. We, humans, are thus creatures of existence that move into an essence - we are not essences that grow into existences.

*Existentialism – What It Is and Isn’t

Existentialism takes into consideration the underlying concepts:

• Human free will
• Human nature is chosen through life choices
• A person is best when struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life
• Decisions are not without stress and consequences
• There are things that are not rational
• Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial
• Society is unnatural and its traditional religious and secular rules are arbitrary
• Worldly desire is futile 

*Existentialism is broadly defined in a variety of concepts and there can be no one answer as to what it is, yet it does not support any of the following:

• wealth, pleasure, or honor make the good life
• social values and structure control the individual
• accept what is and that is enough in life
• science can and will make everything better
• people are basically good but ruined by society or external forces
• “I want my way, now!” or “It is not my fault!” mentality

 Existentialism basically fights the accepted social constructs of the modern world - the power of control, hierarchical structures of power and organized ideology whether it be religion or politics. It is an individual philosophy, it pertains to only the self and self-interested actions. Yet the paradox of it all is that all existentialists subscribe to this overall idea and thus, ultimately, become actors in a controlled, pre-determined ideology.
*Taken from allaboutphilosophy.org