Existentialism Teacher Resources

Following World War II, many found it difficult to re-establish a sense of faith and trust, found it difficult to find meaning in a world that was clearly absurd. The work of the existential philosophers, writers, and artists of the post-war era reflect this despair and loss of faith in traditional institutions and explanations.

Introduce young thinkers to the great ideas of existential philosophers Soren Kierkegaards, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others with Lesson Planet’s collection of reviewed videos and interactives. Find lesson plans for writers like Franz Kafka, and Henry David Thoreau, writing projects (like this mulit-genre project) articles on Herman Mellville and activities that  provide insight into this philosophical theory.

The teen years are a time of questioning. The resources in our collection encourage students to conduct their own search for meaning, to find their own answers to what it means to be an individual, to be free, and to exist.