ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Abandonment (existentialism)

Imagine you have a favorite toy that you love playing with all the time. But one day, you suddenly lose the toy and nobody can find it. You feel sad and start to wonder why your toy left you. This is kind of like what abandonment in existentialism means.

In a bigger way, abandonment means that we feel left alone and without any purpose in life. We feel like we don't have a reason to live and everything we do is meaningless. This happens because we realize that we are all alone in the world and no one can truly understand us or help us find our way.

This feeling of abandonment is a big part of existentialism, which is a philosophy that tries to understand the meaning of life. It says that we are all responsible for our own existence and we have to create our own meaning in life. This can be hard, but it's important because it helps us find our purpose in life.

So, while it might feel scary or sad to think about abandonment, it's actually a reminder that we have the power to create our own destiny and find meaning in our own lives.