Existentialism

In its foundational claim “existence precedes essence,” existentialism was established as a new form of humanism for the 20th century: It was pronounced as such by Jean-Paul Sartre in his postwar 1945 lecture “Existentialism Is a Humanism.” In the 21st century, existentialism continues to spawn compelling novel implications for business ethics regarding emergent technologies and the virtual digitalization of business and economics. In rejecting the unquestioning authority of objective, impersonal standards for knowledge and value over the authority of each person, it represents a substantive departure from the philosophical tradition from Plato to Hegel. In turning toward the inner self and subjectivity, existentialism offers alternative ways of being in the world, highlighting the distinction between humans, who possess self-conscious freedom and subjectivity, and all other ...