Jean Paul Sartre was a French Philosopher: Existentialism

             Jean Paul Sartre was a French philosopher who helped construct a philosophy of existence called existentialism. Existentialism states that individual freedom is subjective and that man cannot go beyond human subjectivity (Kaufman 1989).But when man chooses, he also chooses for others, that is, universally. There is an "ought" in every free action, whereby one's choice for himself applies to every other man in the universe. This "ought" establishes that what is better for one should be better for all: every act is a commitment on behalf of mankind. He perceives man as unable to escape from that sense of complete and profound responsibility for himself and the world-at-large. A sense of abandonment in existentialism develops from the necessity that certain values must be taken seriously. This condition leads to a consequent sense of being left alone and without excuse, of being "condemned to be free." Although man did not create himself, he is nevertheless in a state of freedom that goads him to choose and to act. He cannot take refuge in the power of passion and passivity. He is responsible for his passion and passivity themselves. He is "condemned" to act freely in every given moment. He cannot use feeling as shield, either, for even feeling proceeds for the deed he decides to freely perform. He has no pre-recorded feeling guide to consult for his choices. Even choices by instinct proceed from hard choices he must make (Kaufman).
             "No Exit," a morality play written by Sartre, is about freedom and responsibility as Sartre viewed freedom and responsibility (1960). The play expresses the tenet of the Existential Movement, which states that "existence precedes essence." Sartre believed that human consciousness, or "being-in-itself," enables the individual to choose and define his own essence. An inanimate object, or "being-in-itself," does not possess...

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Jean Paul Sartre was a French Philosopher: Existentialism. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:12, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/202371.html