system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What does it mean to describe something as existential?

I feel that lately I have been seeing "existential" used a lot to describe any number of things or situations. Half the time I don't see the connection and the other half of the time it just seems to be used as a synonym for "meaningless" which I feel nihilistic would be more appropriate I guess?. What do you think is the proper way to use it to describe something?
gpt
Existential means pertaining to existence, so an existential crisis is when you question what actually exists/has meaning. Existentialism is study of existence. Existentialism generally looks for what actually exists rather than finding abstract truths. Rationalism is an opposing view. Rationalism is like Plato’s forms in that there is universal meaning behind what is experienced. I’m not a qualified philosopher though, so someone could do a better job with specifics.