What is the Difference Between Existential Anxiety and so Called Neurotic Anxiety? ‘The sine qua non of true vitality’ An Examination of the Difference Between Existential

Abstract

‘Anxiety has a s ubtle and elusive character that thought can scarcely grasp.’ (Macquarrie, 1973,p173). This paper describes the development of the concept of anxiety in psychotherapeutic and philosophical thinking, and defines existential anxiety, comparing and contrasting it to neurotic anxiety, with reference to normal anxiety, without which, the picture would be incomplete.