ABSTRACT
The term ‘existentialism’ was only introduced into mainstream philosophy in the earlier half of the 20th century, becoming popularized as a movement first in France through the contributions of certain key thinkers. Existential thought can properly be traced back to the nineteenth century, or even prior to this, with the writings of Blaise Pascal, though the articulation of the very tensions of human existence might be originally attributed to the influential work of St. Augustine. Lev Shestov has been generally considered as an existential and religious philosopher, both in his native Russia, as well as Europe. Shestov was mindful of his and our relation to the texts that we read, and not succumbing to treating them as a source of information, or even as being authoritative on a subject-matter. Shestov makes much of the endless possibilities of the imagination and creativity, which are central to our being, rather than living, again, according to any philosophically rational and logical framework.
