Angst

Intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety, or inner turmoil

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Angst is fear or anxiety (anguish is its Latinate equivalent, and the words anxious and anxiety are of similar origin). The dictionary definition for angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Existentialist angst
* 3 Music
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Etymology[edit | edit source]

The word angst was introduced into English from the Danish, Norwegian, and Dutch word angst and the German word Angst. It is attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works of Kierkegaard and Freud.[1][2][3] It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety, or inner turmoil.

In other languages (with words from the Latin pavor for "fear" or "panic"),[4] the derived words differ in meaning; for example, as in the French anxiété and peur. The word angst has existed since the 8th century, from the Proto-Indo-European root *anghu-, "restraint" from which Old High German angust developed.[5] It is pre-cognate with the Latin angustia, "tensity, tightness" and angor, "choking, clogging"; compare to the Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō) "strangle".

## Existentialist angst[edit | edit source]

See also: Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard § Dread or anxiety

In existentialist philosophy, the term angst carries a specific conceptual meaning. The use of the term was first attributed to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). In The Concept of Anxiety (also known as The Concept of Dread, depending on the translation), Kierkegaard used the word Angest (in common Danish, angst, meaning "dread" or "anxiety") to describe a profound and deep-seated condition. Where non-human animals are guided solely by instinct, said Kierkegaard, human beings enjoy a freedom of choice that we find both appealing and terrifying.[5][6] It is the anxiety of understanding of being free when considering undefined possibilities of one's life and the immense responsibility of having the power of choice over them.[6][7] Kierkegaard's concept of angst reappeared in the works of existentialist philosophers who followed, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Martin Heidegger, each of whom developed the idea further in individual ways. While Kierkegaard's angst referred mainly to ambiguous feelings about moral freedom within a religious personal belief system, later existentialists discussed conflicts of personal principles, cultural norms, and existential despair.

## Music[edit | edit source]

Existential angst makes its appearance in classical musical composition in the early twentieth century as a result of both philosophical developments and as a reflection of the war-torn times. Notable composers whose works are often linked with the concept include Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss (operas Elektra and Salome), Claude-Achille Debussy (opera Pelléas et Mélisande, ballet Jeux, other works), Jean Sibelius (especially the Fourth Symphony), Arnold Schoenberg (A Survivor from Warsaw, other works), Alban Berg, Francis Poulenc (opera Dialogues of the Carmelites), Dmitri Shostakovich (opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, symphonies and chamber music), Béla Bartók (opera Bluebeard's Castle, other works), and Krzysztof Penderecki (especially Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima).[citation needed]

Angst began to be discussed in reference to popular music in the mid- to late 1950s amid widespread concerns over international tensions and nuclear proliferation. Jeff Nuttall's book Bomb Culture (1968) traced angst in popular culture to Hiroshima. Dread was expressed in works of folk rock such as Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" (1963) and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall". The term often makes an appearance in reference to punk rock, grunge, nu metal, and works of emo where expressions of melancholy, existential despair, or nihilism predominate.[citation needed]

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Anger - Intense hostile emotional state of mind - Intense hostile emotional state of mind
* Byronic hero - Type of antihero often characterized by isolation and contemplation - Type of antihero often characterized by isolation and contemplation
* Emotion - Conscious subjective experience of humans - Conscious subjective experience of humans
* Existentialism - Philosophical form of enquiry into subjective existence - Philosophical form of enquiry into subjective existence
* Kafkaesque
* Emotion classification#Lists of emotions - Contrast of one emotion from another - Contrast of one emotion from another
* Death anxiety - Anxiety caused by thoughts of death - Anxiety caused by thoughts of death
* Sehnsucht - German noun for an emotion of longing - German noun for an emotion of longing
* Alienation - Disconnection in social relationships - Disconnection in social relationships
* Sturm und Drang - Proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music - Proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music
* Terror management theory - Social and evolutionary psychology theory - Social and evolutionary psychology theory
* Weltschmerz - German word for deep sadness about the state of the world - German word for deep sadness about the state of the world

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b "Angst". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
2. ^ "Angst". Dictionary.com.
3. ^ "Angst". Online Etymology Dictionary.
4. ^ "pavor, pavoris [m.] C". Latin Is Simple. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
5. ^ a b "Angst". The Free Dictionary.
6. ^ a b Marino, Gordon (March 17, 2012). "The Danish Doctor of Dread". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
7. ^ Backhouse, Stephen (2016). Kierkegaard: A Single Life. HarperCollins Christian Publishing. ISBN 9780310520894. Retrieved July 17, 2017.

## External links[edit | edit source]

* File:Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg The dictionary definition of angst at Wiktionary

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Emotions (list)

Emotions|

* Acceptance
* Admiration
* Adoration
* Aesthetic
* Affection
* Agitation
* Agony
* Amusement
* Anger
* Angst
* Anguish
* Annoyance
* Anticipation
* Anxiety
* Apathy
* Arousal
* Attraction
* Awe
* Boredom
* Calmness
* Compassion
* Confidence
* Confusion
* Contempt
* Contentment
* Courage
* Cruelty
* Curiosity
* Defeat
* Depression
* Desire
* Disappointment
* Disgust
* Distrust
* Doubt
* Ecstasy
* Embarrassment
* vicarious
* Empathy
* Emptiness
* Enthrallment
* Enthusiasm
* Envy
* Euphoria
* Excitement
* Faith
* Fear
* Flow
* Frustration
* Gratification
* Gratitude
* Greed
* Grief
* Guilt
* Happiness
* Hatred
* Hiraeth
* Homesickness
* Hope
* Horror
* Hostility
* Humiliation
* Hygge
* Hysteria
* Indulgence
* Infatuation
* Insecurity
* Inspiration
* Interest
* Irritation
* Isolation
* Jealousy
* Joy
* Kindness
* Loneliness
* Love
* limerence
* Lust
* Mono no aware
* Neglect
* Nostalgia
* Outrage
* Panic
* Passion
* Pity
* self-pity
* Pleasure
* Pride
* grandiosity
* hubris
* insult
* vanity
* Rage
* Regret
* Rejection
* Relief
* Remorse
* Resentment
* Sadness
* melancholy
* Saudade
* Schadenfreude
* Sehnsucht
* Sentimentality
* Shame
* Shock
* Shyness
* Social connection
* Sorrow
* Spite
* Stress
* chronic
* Suffering
* Surprise
* Sympathy
* Trust
* Wonder
* sense of wonder
* Worry

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File:Plutchik Dyads.svg

Worldviews|

* Cynicism
* Defeatism
* Nihilism
* Optimism
* Pessimism
* Reclusion
* Weltschmerz

Related|

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Søren Kierkegaard

* Influence and reception
* Philosophy
* Theology

Works|

| 1841–1846|

* On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates
* Either/Or
* De omnibus dubitandum est
* Two Upbuilding Discourses, 1843
* Repetition
* Three Upbuilding Discourses, 1843
* Fear and Trembling
* Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1843
* Sermon Preached at Trinity Church, 1844
* Two Upbuilding Discourses, 1844
* Three Upbuilding Discourses, 1844
* Philosophical Fragments
* Prefaces
* The Concept of Anxiety
* Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844
* Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses
* Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions
* Stages on Life's Way
* Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments
* Two Ages: A Literary Review

|

1847–1854|

* Edifying Discourses in Diverse Spirits
* Works of Love
* Christian Discourses
* The Crisis and a Crisis in the Life of an Actress
* The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air
* Two Minor Ethical-Religious Essays
* The Sickness unto Death
* Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays
* Practice in Christianity
* An Upbuilding Discourse
* Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays
* The Book on Adler
* For Self-Examination
* Attack Upon Christendom

Posthumous|

* The Point of View of My Work as an Author
* Judge for Yourselves!
* The Journals
* Writing Sampler

Ideas|

* Angst
* Anguish
* Authenticity
* Double-mindedness
* Indirect communication
* Infinite qualitative distinction
* Knight of faith
* Leap of faith
* Levelling
* Present age
* Ressentiment
* Rotation method
* Thorn in the flesh
* Despair

People|

* Regine Olsen
* Peter Kierkegaard
* Hans Lassen Martensen
* Jacob Peter Mynster
* J. L. Heiberg
* Thomasine Christine Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd
* Adolph Peter Adler

Related topics|

* Works about Kierkegaard
* Danish Golden Age
* Søren Kierkegaard Research Center
* Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library
* Prayers of Kierkegaard
* Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook
* Rosenborggade 7–9
* Statue of Søren Kierkegaard

* v
* t
* e

Existentialism

Concepts|

* Abandonment
* Absurdism
* Angst
* Authenticity
* Bad faith
* Being in itself
* Existence precedes essence
* Existential crisis
* Facticity
* Meaning
* Nihilism
* Other

Thinkers|

* Nicola Abbagnano
* Hannah Arendt
* Abdel Rahman Badawi
* Hazel Barnes
* Karl Barth
* Nikolai Berdyaev
* Steve Biko
* Martin Buber
* Rudolf Bultmann
* Dino Buzzati
* Albert Camus
* Jane Welsh Carlyle
* Thomas Carlyle
* Emil Cioran
* Walter A. Davis
* Simone de Beauvoir
* Fyodor Dostoevsky
* William A. Earle
* Ralph Ellison
* Frantz Fanon
* Vilém Flusser
* Benjamin Fondane
* James Anthony Froude
* Alberto Giacometti
* Juozas Girnius
* Lewis Gordon
* Martin Heidegger
* Edmund Husserl
* Eugène Ionesco
* Nae Ionescu
* William James
* Karl Jaspers
* Franz Kafka
* Walter Kaufmann
* Søren Kierkegaard
* Ladislav Klíma
* Emmanuel Levinas
* John Macquarrie
* Naguib Mahfouz
* Gabriel Marcel
* Vytautas Mačernis
* Rollo May
* Maurice Merleau-Ponty
* Friedrich Nietzsche
* José Ortega y Gasset
* Viktor Petrov
* Franz Rosenzweig
* Jean-Paul Sartre
* Aous Shakra
* Lev Shestov
* Joseph B. Soloveitchik
* Paul Tillich
* Rick Turner
* Miguel de Unamuno
* John Daniel Wild
* Colin Wilson
* Richard Wright
* Peter Wessel Zapffe

Related|

* Phenomenology (philosophy)
* Continental philosophy
* Transcendentalism
* German idealism
* Western Marxism
* Existentialist anarchism
* Existential nihilism
* Atheistic existentialism

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