The existentialism of J.-P. Sartre and the existenz of M. Heidegger: two conceptions of humanism in European philosophy of 20th century

In the article author tries to identify differences of conceptions about human existence in two key systems of European philosophy of 20th century. Author shows that in Sartre’s existentialism there is no preliminary given human essence. Human existence is a creative project of the man himself. According to Sartre, man creates meanings of his own existence and the history of mankind is spontaneous and unpredictable. According to M. Heidegger, the essence of human existence lies in his relation to the whole world, to the holistic Being. Output of the person beyond his own biological and social needs, the constant expansion the boundaries of his existence by man, Heidegger calls as existenz. In turn, the holistic Being, according to Heidegger, is not static, stationary, perfect and immutable. But holistic Being is perpetually transcending itself: it is dynamic and not finished. Thus, the infinite and boundless Being, in transcending, is embodied in its finite and limited human form. Conversely, the human being, in his existenz, transcends the limits of his limbs and narrow-mindedness, and has a relationship to the whole infinity of holistic Being.