FOR some reason existentialism has an unsavory reputation. People who do not know very much about it tend to associate it with loose morals and anti-Christian sentiments. Quite the contrary is true.

In the paneled quiet of the Papal Cancelleria last fortnight, eager-eyed young priests leaned forward on elbows shiny from desk-reading; ascetic monks stretched thin necks from their lowered cowls.

I'm interested in three modern philosophies that overlap a lot: Existentialism, Nihilism, and Absurdism. I could be wrong here, but it seems they all start with the same idea--life doesn't have any ...

Does radical subjectivity lead to freedom or imprisonment? Although it is difficult to interpret precisely expressions of enthusiasm for certain ideas or to measure and record the motions of opinion ...

THE WORDS by Jean-Paul Sartre. 255 pages. George Braziller. $5. For a quarter-century, French Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre has been the symbol of what is best (implacable honesty) and worst ...