The Merriam–Webster Dictionary defines existentialism as a philosophical movement primarily of the 20th century embracing various doctrines but focused on the analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and on the fate of the individual who must bear ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or right or wrong (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our natures are those that we have created for ourselves, that the meaning of our existence is that we simply exist and that there may or may not be meaning to existence, and that we We must decide individually what is right. or evil and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer all these questions 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 to the present. He is in ruins, not because of the things that happened to him, but because of the choices he made. He is consumed by regret and insecurity and tries to blame someone other than himself for his situation, but he cannot (Barnes, 2011). In the remainder of this article, I will discuss two of the most prominent existentialists, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Soren Kierkegaard's existentialist ideas were firmly rooted in his Christianity. This would make sense in light of his academic studies and the fact that he at one point felt a calling to serve within the Church. Kierkegaard assumed: “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 to say, he has the right to be...... middle of paper......tialism. (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. To Soren Kierkegaard. Accessed 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: Introducing Kierkegaard. (2009). In 90 seconds for cultivation. Retrieved December 4, 2011 from http://www.90secondstoculture.com/2009/04/where-the-absurd-leads-to-god-introducing-kierkegaard-culturecast-053/Wyatt, C. (2010). Frederick Nietzsche. In Tameri Guide for Writers. Accessed December 6, 2010 from http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/nietzsche.shtml