Most philosophers want to get to settled answers. The ironist, by contrast, speaks in the voice of Gertrude Stein: “There ain’t no answer. There ain’t going to be an answer. There never has been an answer. That’s the answer.”
The term “existentialism” has taken on a life of its own and has found application in a wide range of contexts. In a wry nod to existentialism’s complicated relationship with religion, I’ll call this broader movement “broad church existentialism.”
One way to understand existentialism is as an attempt to find meaning in a world that’s lost its faith.