Theme

Philosophy quotes about existence

Existence appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat existence as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

Why this theme matters

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Søren Kierkegaard and Henri Bergson), existence is framed through Existentialism and Process Philosophy. Some passages define existence; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language.

In the history of philosophy

Discussions of existence travel through European modern and modern European traditions. Compare the quotations below with their school labels rather than forcing a single definition.

Thinkers in this collection

Søren Kierkegaard , Henri Bergson , Karl Jaspers , Erich Fromm , Jean-Paul Sartre , René Descartes , Simone de Beauvoir , Nishitani Keiji

Frequently asked questions

What did philosophers say about existence?

They disagreed in productive ways. In this archive, Søren Kierkegaard, Henri Bergson, and related voices treat existence as something to clarify, cultivate, or critique—not merely to celebrate.

Where can I find philosophy quotes about existence?

This theme page gathers 9 verified English quotations tagged Existence, with links to thinkers and sources.

How should I read quotes about existence?

Read the sentence, then check school and source. A compact line is an entry point into an argument about existence, not a substitute for the surrounding text.

  1. Marry, and you will regret it; do not marry, and you will also regret it.
  2. For a conscious being, to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
  3. Man is always more than he knows of himself.
  4. Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.
  5. The self is a relation that relates itself to itself.
  6. Man is a useless passion.
  7. I am, I exist—whenever it is uttered by me, or conceived in the mind, it is necessarily true.
  8. To exist is to make oneself a lack of being; it is to cast oneself into the world.
  9. For what purpose do I exist?
  10. There is a true person of no rank who is always coming and going through the gates of your face.
  11. That neither our thoughts, nor passions, nor ideas formed by the imagination, exist without the mind, is what everybody will allow.