Essay on Sartre and the Meaning of Human Existence

Where the Meaning of Human Existence is Located According to Sartre The word philosophy comes from Greek and literally means love of wisdom. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines philosophy as a critical study of fundamental beliefs and the grounds for them. Both explanations of philosophy are correct and concrete. The meaning of human existence has no such concrete answer, but in this paper we will examine where Sartre believes it to be. Sartres existentialism is a philosophy, which deals with man. It states that man is that which he makes of himself and that he has to make his own choices in a state of anguish. Man chooses in anguish, because he has no external guidelines to help him and must rely on his own morals and†¦show more content†¦Fate is overruled and passions hold no power. An existentialist will never view a great passion as a destructive agent, or blame fate for making a man commit certain actions. Again pointing to mans existence being defined by his choices and actions. Since Sartre claims that existence precedes essence, an existentialist will also deny the support of an organized religion. As a result there is an absence of values. The existentialists world is one of being forsaken and abandoned. In this sense, abandonment can mean that we ourselves decide our being. As an example we can consider the case of the man who was faced with a difficult decision the. The young man had two choices: To take care of his mother, or to go to England to join the freedom forces. The first option is a concrete and certain course of action. It is immediate, but directed to only one individual. The second choice of action is addressed to an infinitely greater cause, yet the outcome is rather uncertain. The Kantian ethic warns not to regard another person as a means, but rather as an end.(pg 25-26) In this case, for the young man to remain with his mother, he would be treating her as the end and the freedom fighters as the means. On the other hand, if he were to aid the freedom fighters, he would be treating them as the end at the risk of treating his mother as the means. This example shows how manShow MoreRelatedExistentialism And Human Emotions By Jean Paul Sartre1513 Words   |  7 PagesJean-Paul Sartre s novel Existentialism and Human Emotions discusses his philosophy that man is responsible for what he is and what he does; that man chooses his values and makes himself. At the beginning of the book, Sartre defends existentialism against several charges that had been laid against it. Throughout the book, Sartre refers to the basis of existentialism using the phrase ‘existence precedes essence . 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Sartre was an atheist and therefore didn’t believe in the moralsRead MoreSartres Existentialism1745 Words   |  7 PagesJean-Paul Sartre defends his philosophy, existentialism, against its critics by arguing that for human existence, precedes essence (20) because we have free will. Due to this, our essence is constructed through the actions we choose to take, so that one â€Å"is no more than the sum of his parts† (Sartre 37), making each person responsible for themself. Sartre argues that this leads to anguish - that people are responsible for not just themselves, but also for all of humanity, from which the meaning of existentialism