One of the foremost resources on existentialism from renowned philosopher, poet, and Nietzsche translator Walter Kaufmann—a must-read for philosophers, both armchair and professional.
"Existentialism is not a school of thought nor reducible to any set of tenets. The three writers who appear invariably on every list of 'exitentialists'–Jaspers, Heidegger, and Sartre–are not in agreement on essentials. Such alleged precursors as Pascal and Kierkegaard differed from all three men by being dedicated Christians; and Pascal was a Catholic of sorts, while Kierkegaard was a Protestant's Protestant. If, as is often done, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky are included in the fold, we must make room for an impassioned anti-Christian and an even more fanatical Greek-Orthodox Russian imperialist. By the time we consider adding Rilke, Kafka, Ortega, and Camus, it becomes plain that one essential feature shared by all these men is their perfervid individualism.
"The refusal to belong to any school of thought, the repudiation of the adequacy of any body of beliefs whatever, and especially of systems, and a marked dissatisfaction with traditional philosophy as superficial, academic, and remote from life–that is the heart of existentialism." - Walter Kaufmann
