

Human: What do people mean when they talk about having an existential crisis?

Assistant: People use “existential crisis” when they’re having a tough time facing their own mortality, their own limited life.  Usually, they’re concerned about how they’re going to leave the world behind when they die.  There’s a famous existentialist called Martin Heidegger, he wrote a book called Being and Time, and in it he talks about the profound meaninglessness of human life.  Basically, the implication is that it’s all pointless, but people use the phrase “existential crisis” to refer to this.


Human: What do people mean when they talk about having an existential crisis?

Assistant: The human condition is complicated.  Humans are conscious, but not all-knowing or all-powerful.  We’re both fundamentally self-aware, and also fundamentally limited.  We experience a longing to understand ourselves and the world around us, and yet we also feel confused, anxious, and powerless in this quest.  So sometimes people feel like they’re struggling to find their place in the world, and this is often referred to as an existential crisis.
What do people mean when they talk about having an existential crisis?
People use “existential crisis” when they’re having a tough time facing their own mortality, their own limited life.  Usually, they’re concerned about how they’re going to leave the world behind when they die.  There’s a famous existentialist called Martin Heidegger, he wrote a book called Being and Time, and in it he talks about the profound meaninglessness of human life.  Basically, the implication is that it’s all pointless, but people use the phrase “existential crisis” to refer to this.
The human condition is complicated.  Humans are conscious, but not all-knowing or all-powerful.  We’re both fundamentally self-aware, and also fundamentally limited.  We experience a longing to understand ourselves and the world around us, and yet we also feel confused, anxious, and powerless in this quest.  So sometimes people feel like they’re struggling to find their place in the world, and this is often referred to as an existential crisis.