Existentialism: Making Meaning When There Is None

Sartre said it best: existence precedes essence. We are not born with a purpose, we create one.

The absurd

Camus described the clash between our hunger for meaning and a silent universe. His conclusion was not despair but defiance: we must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Freedom is heavy

If nothing is predetermined, every choice is ours, and so is the responsibility. Sartre called trying to escape this bad faith, hiding behind roles like "I'm just doing my job".

Practical takeaways

• Stop waiting to discover your purpose; start building it.
• Choose commitments deliberately, then own them.
• Treat uncertainty as room to grow, not a threat.

It is a surprisingly hopeful philosophy for something that begins with "life has no inherent meaning".