Philosophical and Ideological Terms

Absurde: The absurd, philosophical concept central to Camus.

Aliénation: Alienation, key concept in existentialist and Marxist thought.

Authenticité: Authenticity, existentialist ideal of genuine self-creation.

Condition humaine: The human condition, central preoccupation of existentialist writers.

Décadence: Late 19th-century aesthetic movement embracing decline and artifice.

L'Être et le Néant: Being and Nothingness, Sartre's major philosophical work.

Liberté: Freedom, central concept for existentialists.

Mauvaise foi: Bad faith, Sartrean concept of self-deception.

Nihilisme: Nihilism, belief in meaninglessness, often attributed to contemporary writers.