About this Study Set
This study set covers Existentialism through
20 practice questions.
A collection of factual inquiries regarding the historical development, key publications, and foundational discoveries within the existentialist tradition. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 20 questions from the
Existentialism: Origins and Milestones study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
Which Danish philosopher is historically credited with being the first to lay the foundations of existentialism in the 19th century?
-
A
Søren Kierkegaard
-
B
Friedrich Nietzsche
-
C
Jean-Paul Sartre
-
D
Martin Heidegger
2
Which 1946 publication is widely considered the first major manifesto to introduce existentialism as a coherent philosophical movement to the public?
-
A
Existentialism Is a Humanism
-
B
Being and Nothingness
-
C
The Myth of Sisyphus
-
D
Nausea
3
Which landmark 1927 book by Martin Heidegger introduced the fundamental concept of 'Dasein' to philosophical discourse?
-
A
Being and Time
-
B
The Question of Being
-
C
Discourse on Thinking
-
D
Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics
4
What is the title of the 1938 novel by Jean-Paul Sartre, often cited as the first major existentialist work of fiction?
-
A
Nausea
-
B
The Age of Reason
-
C
The Flies
-
D
No Exit
5
Which philosopher is credited with the first major articulation of the concept of the 'Death of God' in his 1882 work 'The Gay Science'?
-
A
Friedrich Nietzsche
-
B
Arthur Schopenhauer
-
C
Albert Camus
-
D
Karl Jaspers
6
Who was the first female philosopher to write an extensive existentialist treatise on the 'othering' of women, published in 1949?
-
A
Simone de Beauvoir
-
B
Hannah Arendt
-
C
Iris Murdoch
-
D
Edith Stein
7
In 1942, Albert Camus published his first major philosophical essay exploring the concept of the absurd. What is its title?
-
A
The Myth of Sisyphus
-
B
The Rebel
-
C
The Plague
-
D
Caligula
8
Which psychological movement was co-founded by Viktor Frankl, representing the first major attempt to apply existentialist principles to clinical therapy?
-
A
Logotherapy
-
B
Psychoanalysis
-
C
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
-
D
Humanistic Psychology
9
What was the first journal dedicated specifically to the promotion and analysis of existentialist thought, founded in France in 1945?
-
A
Les Temps Modernes
-
B
La Nouvelle Revue Française
-
C
Existentialisme
-
D
Le Monde
10
Which 19th-century Russian author is often credited with producing the first literary existentialist masterpiece, 'Notes from Underground'?
-
A
Fyodor Dostoevsky
-
B
Leo Tolstoy
-
C
Ivan Turgenev
-
D
Anton Chekhov
11
Who coined the term 'existentialism' (existentialisme) as a label for the movement in a public lecture held in 1945?
-
A
Jean-Paul Sartre
-
B
Gabriel Marcel
-
C
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
-
D
Simone de Beauvoir
12
Which philosophical concept, signifying the lack of inherent meaning, was first popularized in existentialist literature through the metaphor of the 'absurd'?
-
A
Absurdism
-
B
Nihilism
-
C
Structuralism
-
D
Phenomenology
13
Which German philosopher was the first to use the term 'Existenzphilosophie' in his 1932 work 'Philosophy'?
-
A
Karl Jaspers
-
B
Martin Heidegger
-
C
Edmund Husserl
-
D
Friedrich Nietzsche
14
What is the first major existentialist work to challenge traditional Cartesian dualism by emphasizing bodily experience?
-
A
Phenomenology of Perception
-
B
Being and Nothingness
-
C
The Second Sex
-
D
The Ethics of Ambiguity
15
Which 19th-century thinker's posthumous 1901 compilation, 'The Will to Power', first popularized the idea of the 'Übermensch'?
-
A
Friedrich Nietzsche
-
B
Søren Kierkegaard
-
C
Arthur Schopenhauer
-
D
Max Stirner
16
In which city did the famous 1945 lecture take place where the principles of existentialism were first codified as a 'humanism'?
-
A
Paris
-
B
Berlin
-
C
Vienna
-
D
Copenhagen
17
Which thinker is credited with the first detailed analysis of 'facticity' in the context of existential freedom?
-
A
Martin Heidegger
-
B
Jean-Paul Sartre
-
C
Albert Camus
-
D
Simone de Beauvoir
18
What was the first English-language translation of a major existentialist text, which appeared in 1947?
-
A
Existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre
-
B
Being and Time by Martin Heidegger
-
C
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
-
D
The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir
19
Who first developed the concept of 'situatedness' (la situation) to describe how individuals are embedded in a specific historical context?
-
A
Jean-Paul Sartre
-
B
Gabriel Marcel
-
C
Karl Jaspers
-
D
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
20
Which seminal existentialist work was the first to explicitly outline the concept of 'radical freedom' in 1943?
-
A
Being and Nothingness
-
B
The Myth of Sisyphus
-
C
The Age of Reason
-
D
Nausea
