Transcript Sartre and the Existentialist Vision of the Human

Philosophy 224
Sartre and the Existentialist Vision of the Human
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre (19051980) was a French
philosopher, author,
playwright and activist.
 He was one of the most
influential philosophers of
the 20th Century.
 He’s best known as one of
the key figures in a
philosophical movement
known as existentialism.

◦ He’s actually one of the few
representatives of the
movement to call himself an
existentialist.
Existentialism
One thing that all of the existentialists share is an
emphasis on the centrality of subjective
experience.
 This can be understood in one of two ways:

◦ as the rejection of any objective/external
determination or meaning;
◦ as the insistence on human freedom.

Both of these senses are captured with the slogan
made famous by Sartre: “existence precedes
essence.”
◦ There is no pre-given meaning to our lives. We first
are, and then through our actions make our lives
meaningful.
No Metaphysics

As is suggested by this slogan, Sartre is
relatively unconcerned with
metaphysical speculation.
◦ The metaphysical tradition has been
dominated by philosophies of ‘essence.’
What account he does provide of reality
focuses on human existence.
 The title of his first major work, Being
and Nothingness, indicates the tenor of
the ontological account that he offers.

Human Nature
The fundamental feature of human existence is
"nothingness."
 We have no essence, no nature.
 How do we know this? Sartre asks us to consider
the nature of consciousness.

◦ Our existence is different from the existence of the
things in the world. We not only exist, we are
conscious of ourselves as existing (our being is initself, for-itself).
◦ The fundamental structure of self-conscious is
negation (we are not like the other things in the
world; all choice is the refusal of the other options;
desire implies lack; etc.).
Meaningless, but Free
As defined by nothingness, our existence is
meaningless. According to most accounts, the
meaning of our lives is given to us. Sartre denies
this. To the extent that our life comes to have
meaning, it has only the meaning we choose to
give to it.
 We are thus absolutely free. We find ourselves in
the world, with qualities and capacities that we
are not the source of. Nonetheless, we are not
passive bearers of these qualities. They have the
significance we allow them to have.

◦ Ex. Being born female in our culture.
Bad Faith
According to Sartre, this account of our existence is true
even for those of us who believe that our meaning is given to
us. In essence, people choose to ignore the fact that they are
free creatures, hiding their freedom from themselves by
putting faith in some 'higher' power, or by blaming
circumstance or others for the negative effects of their
choices.
 It's easy to understand why. Absolute freedom implies
absolute responsibility. If we're miserable, it's much easier to
blame it on someone or something else then face up to the
fact that we are the cause. Likewise, it's much easier to be a
passive participant in our lives than to be actively engaged
with our existence.

◦ Sartre calls this self-denial Bad Faith.
Authenticity



The opposite of bad faith, and Sartre's
prescription, is what he calls authenticity.
Authenticity is not the same thing as "good
faith," which as Sartre understands it is just
another way to abandon yourself to a
transcendent meaning.
Living authentically requires taking the
nothingness at the heart of our existence
seriously. This requires to us to live as
freedom, accepting full responsibility for
the meaning of our lives.
“Existentialism”

Sartre begins the reading by making a distinction
between two species of existentialism: atheistic and
Christian.
◦ Though there seems to be a fundamental opposition between
the two, they actually share an essential claim: human existence
precedes human essence.

However, Sartre seems to suggest that only the atheistic
version can consistently affirm that hypothesis.
◦ After all, if you believe God created humans, how is that different
from the potter who made the pot? For Sartre, before there is
meaning, there is existence.

Note that existentialism is not a naïve subjectivism. It
does not suggest that we are self-created, but merely
that we are the source of significance in our existence.
“is a Humanism”



It is on this basis that Sartre makes the
connection between existentialism and
humanism.
Existentialism grants to human existence a
fundamental dignity. We are absolutely free,
and as such, absolutely responsible.
In an echo of Kant, Sartre insists that this
responsibility extends beyond our own
existence to the existence of all.
◦ In choosing for ourselves we choose for all.
Dimensions of Freedom
Sartre attempts to clarify our situation by exploring the meaning of three
dimensions of our freedom: anguish, abandonment, and despair.
 Anguish

◦ Complete responsibility imposes an incredible burden on humans. If we face up
to it, we are unavoidably anguished. Example of Abraham.

Abandonment
◦ He characterizes this fact by reference to the non-existence of God. If there is
no God, everything is permitted. We thus have no excuses. We are condemned
to be free.
◦ By abandonment, Sartre refers to the fact that we are thrown into existence. We
always find ourselves in a situation that we are then required to lay claim to.
There is no escape from this.

Despair
◦ By despair, Sartre refers to the fact that our freedom precludes the possibility of
hope. The only thing that we can count on is our will, and reasonable anticipation
of what will follow from that will. Living without hope is not to give up acting.
Just the opposite is true: we are and we are only what we make ourselves.
Final Analysis

What then are we to make of
existentialism?
◦ True inheritor of Descartes: the subject is
truth.
◦ Only theory that doesn't deny the dignity of
human beings by treating them as objects.
◦ No human nature, but there is a human
condition: freedom.
◦ Aesthetic ideal?

Summing up.