Existenialism and religion in eastern and western thought "Seyyid Ahmet Arvada and Rollo May in comparison"

In this study, the similarities and differences between the views on existentialism of Muslim thinkers, nourished by Eastern culture and tradition, and Christian thinkers, nourished by Western culture and tradition, were analyzed. Existentialism is a philosophical movement that provides meaning to human life. Starting from the second half of the 19th century, the scientific and technological developments that came with the Industrial Revolution disconnected humans from their nature, alienated their own labor from humans, and began to lose faith in themselves due to the feeling of helplessness against the machine. Psychotherapists, who could not find a solution to the distress and depression of this situation with classical techniques, transferred existentialism from philosophy to psychology. Existentialism, which does not claim to be a new school and does not have a certain system or technique, has been revealed by people who do not know the news in various places. Therefore, there are as many definitions of existentialism as existential appears. In the study, firstly, these definitions were examined and the historical development of existentialism was discussed. The existentialism of Eastern and Western thinkers has been revealed in general terms. Then, Christian existential psychologist Rollo May's general view of humanity, his attitude towards religion and religiosity, and his thoughts on the process of making sense of human existence were examined. Then, Muslim thinker Seyit Ahmet Arvasi's view on humanity, his views on religion and religiosity, and his view on existentialism were analyzed. In the last chapter, considering the culture these two thinkers were nourished by, their existential ideas were compared in terms of religion and spirituality, and their similarities and differences were