Lev Shestov

Lev Shestov (1866 - 1938) was a Russian existentialist philosopher, known for his "Philosophy of Despair". Shestov's works were not met with approval even by some of his closest Russian friends. Many saw in Shestov's work a renunciation of reason and metaphysics, and even an espousal of nihilism. Nevertheless, he would find admirers in some writers. He influenced writers such as Albert Camus, Benjamin Fondane, the poet Paul Celan, and notably Emil Cioran.