Nietzsche and Kierkegaard founded existentialism as lived philosophy of choice and anguish

Evidence

Nietzsche and Kierkegaard were the heralds of modern existentialism. They pioneered a mood of rebellion and dissatisfaction, created a new definition of existence as choice, action and self-assertion, and made a study of the anguish and difficulty of life. They also worked in the conviction that philosophy was not just a profession. It was life itself — the life of an individual. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 66

Categorization

• DEFINE: Identifies the defining traits existentialism inherits from its two heralds: choice, self-assertion, anguish, and philosophy as lived practice.
• XREF: Sets up the contrast with academic/professional philosophers like Husserl and Hegel elsewhere in this book. — connects to: Philosophy as a way of life survived among non-academic mavericks like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 56; Kierkegaard coined existential thought as concerning the problems of human existence — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 57; Nietzsche and Kierkegaard defined existence as choice, action and self-assertion (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Nietzsche and Kierkegaard defined existence as choice, action and self-assertion #corroborates (0.90)
• Beauvoir’s system-based definition of philosophy would exclude Kierkegaard and Nietzsche #qualifies (0.85) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 34