The Merriam–Webster dictionary defines existentialism as a primarily 20th-century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but focused on the analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and plight of the individual who must assume the ultimate responsibility role for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong, good or bad (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our nature is the nature we create for ourselves, the meaning of our existence is that we just exist and there may or may not be a meaning to existence, and we must individually decide what is right or wrong and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer any of these things for us. A good example of existentialism is Woody Allen's film, Deconstructing Harry. A man is haunted by his past and his past has followed him into the present. He's a disaster not because of the things that happened to him, but because of the choices he made. He is consumed by remorse and insecurity and tries to find blame in his situation with someone other than himself, but fails (Barnes, 2011). In the rest of this article I will discuss two of the most important existentialists, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Soren Kierkegaard's ideas of existentialism were firmly rooted in his Christianity. This would make sense in light of his college major and the fact that he once felt a calling to serve within the church. Kierkegaard hypothesized, “God is infinite and personal… transcendent and imminent, omniscient, sovereign, and good” (Teachme, 1997). Although his beliefs were rooted in Christianity, he believed that man also had the inalienable right to be himself (Teachme, 1997). That is, it has the right to be......middle of paper......tyalism. (2011). At the University of South Dakota. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://people.usd.edu/~clehmann/HWB/hwb_h/exist.htmMalachi. (2003). Existential Wars: Kierkegaard versus Nietzsche. In Soren Kierkegaard. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.sorenkierkegaard.nl/artikelen/Engels/001.%20Existential%20Wars%20Kierkegaard%20vs%20Nietzsche.pdfSoren Kierkegaard. (1997). In Teach Me. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.angelfire.com/la/TEACH2/SKierkegaard.htmlWhere the Absurd Leads to God: Kierkegaard's Presentation. (2009). In 90 seconds to culture. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://www.90secondstoculture.com/2009/04/where-the-absurd-leads-to-god-introducing-kierkegaard-culturecast-053/Wyatt, C. (2010). Friedrich Nietzsche. In Tameri Guide for Writers. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/nietzsche.shtml