Sartre, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir Merleau-Ponty and Camus were some of the most important existentialist thinkers. This book provides an account of the existentialist movement, and of the themes of individuality free will, and personal responsibility which make it a 'philosophy as a way of life'.

Contents; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of illustrations; 1 Philosophy as a way of life; 2 Becoming an individual; 3 Humanism: for and against; 4 Authenticity; 5 A chastened individualism? Existentialism and social thought; 6 Existentialism in the 21st century; References; Further reading; Glossary; Index.