The term ‘Existentialism’ refers to the philosophical and cultural movement that flourished in the mid-nineteenth and twentieth century Europe. Although there is no definite definition of existentialism, it is generally regarded as ‘a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centres on the lived experience of the thinking, feeling, acting individual’. (john, 2010, p.14). The movement of existentialism began as a revolt against the prevailing philosophical traditions and emphasised individuality and the existing human subject as the starting point of philosophical thought. Existentialism is an expression that relates to all abstract thought that regards the human condition as a crucial philosophical problem. It is claimed that Existentialism is not a philosophical system, rather, it is best classified as a philosophical movement. Crowell (2010) argues that existentialism, rather than a systematic philosophy itself, is better understood as a general approach used to undermine existing systematic philosophies. As a movement, existentialism arose in the nineteenth century with the philosophical works of two profound European thinkers, namely, Soren Kierkegaard and Fredrick Nietzsche. Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-twentieth century, and especially after World War II that existentialism achieved prominence. In addition, existentialism was a reaction of the philosophy of man in opposition to the dominance of the philosophy of ideas and abstraction. Many European philosophers, writers and theologians contributed to the movement with their fictional and non-fictional writings which greatly influenced the literature of late twentieth century. It is suggested, therefore that existentialism is merely a former cultural movement rather than an identifiable philosophical position. Furthermore, all existentialists, whether past or present, share a deep concern about the problem of life as a human being. According to Solomon (1987) the existential attitude begins with a disoriented individual facing a confused world which he cannot accept. Moreover, what is common among all existentialists is that addressing the human condition they tend to vehemently reject the existing philosophical, scientific and religious systems or theories which attempts to answer questions regarding the meaning and purpose of human life in an absolute manner. Consequently, after rejecting an inherent meaning to human existence and faced with an absurd world, an individual is entitled to assign a purpose to his life and determine his own values. Existentialist have differed substantially in their evaluation of human condition; however, every existential thought begins with an emphasis on man rather than nature and a treatment of man as an existent being rather than a thinking subject. Traditionally, existentialism is divided into two types, that being Theistic and Atheistic Existentialism. Theistic Existentialism also known as Christian Existentialism emerged with the philosophical works of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard during the mid-nineteenth century. Theistic Existentialism emphasises and weaves its thought around the existence of God and consider ‘’man’s relationship with God as an important philosophical problem’’ (Nellickapilly, 2012, p.2). Moreover, the movement of Christian existentialism takes an existential approach to Christian theology (Eliade and Adams, 1987). Contrastingly, Atheistic existentialism exclude any religious beliefs from philosophical existential thought and is cantered on an atheistic worldview. According to Nellickappilly (2012) this group of existentialists deny the existence of God or do not consider it as posing any philosophical problem. In this regard Jean Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger and Albert Camus is considered to be atheistic existential philosophers. Despite the distinction, the existence of God had always been a matter of discussion among the existentialists. In conclusion, existentialism is associated with all thinking that emphasises human existence and consider the human condition to be a pivotal philosophical dilemma. In addition, existentialism is a recent addition to the history of philosophy and, evidently, not a discrete philosophical system. Moreover, Existentialists may differ in their assessment of the position of an individual, nevertheless, they place a high premium upon man as the core of attraction of the society. While theistic existentialists follow an existential analysis with an appeal to traditional theology, atheistic existentialists reject any such approach whatsoever. The legacy of existentialism is still alive and continues to influence modern philosophical thought. Written By. Waqas Ahmad National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad waqasss012@gmail.com References: Macquarie, J. (1972). Existentialism. New York: Penguin. pp. 14–15 Crowell, S. (October 2010). "Existentialism". Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy Solomon, R. (1987). From Hegel to Existentialism. New York: Oxford University Press Nellickappilly, S. (2012). Aspects of Western Philosophy. Chenni: India Institute of Technology Press. p. 2 Eliade M.J. & Adams C.J. (1987). Encyclopaedia of Religion, 3rd edn. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company Reference System used: Harvard System of Referencing