Existential questions prompt anxiety, the fear of nonbeing. We cannot escape them. We all must face anxiety, dread, and meaninglessness. Are there theological answers to these ultimate questions? Existential questions prompt anxiety, the fear of nonbeing.
By Steve Donoghue Correspondent
When it comes to essay anthologies, thereâs a tradition so iron-clad and long-standing that itâs remarkably daring of editor Phillip Lopate, in the foreword of âThe Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present,â to natter for 16 whole pages before he gets around to asking âBut wait: what is an essay?â
This question is practically constitutionally required when writing about essays. In a narrative tradition going all the way back through Montaigne to Plutarch, editors, publishers, and a whole miscellany of intellectuals have automatically raised Deep Existential Questions in their introductions. The essay form has so many fundamental identity problems youâd expect it to wear Goth eyeliner and moodily refuse to leave its room for family meals.