Jean-Paul Sartre and Existentialism

Jean-Paul Sartre: Atheist Existentialist

• Lived from 1905 to 1980.
• Existentialism opposes essentialism and Aristotle's teleology.

Essentialism

• A prevalent view until the late 19th century (associated with Plato and Aristotle).
• Posits that everything, including humans, possesses an essence that defines its nature.
• An object's essence determines its function and identity.
• Example: An axe's sharpness is its essence, enabling its function.
• In humans, essence is considered a priori, implying a pre-determined purpose.
• Fulfilling one's essence equates to being a good human, aligning with a pre-set function or purpose.

Sartre's Critique of Essentialism

• Sartre famously declared, "Existence precedes essence."
• Humans are born without a pre-defined essence; they create their own essence through choices and actions.
• This eliminates the notion of a pre-set path or purpose, challenging the traditional belief in a divinely ordained purpose.
• Existentialism, while not always atheistic, denies the existence of a creator God who assigns specific purposes to humans.
• Kierkegaard, for example, was a theist and an existentialist.

Consciousness and Freedom

• Consciousness is a subject beyond material objects.
• Reflection on consciousness leads to an appreciation of freedom.

Anguish and Bad Faith

• Authenticity, according to Sartre, requires acknowledging one's freedom and accepting its inherent responsibility.
• An authentic life is a life of value, with meaning solely derived from human actions and choices.
• Radical freedom and responsibility can be difficult to accept, leading to anguish.
• Anguish arises from the recognition of the absurdity of existence.
• Radical freedom reveals the inherent nothingness of human beings.
• Humans often attempt to conceal their own absurdity.
• Freedom to choose creates individual value systems, making individuals fully responsible for the consequences of their choices.

Anguish and its Avoidance

• Anguish stems from the ease of relinquishing personal responsibility by allowing others to make choices.
• Avoiding anguish involves living inauthentically.
• Authenticity equates to good faith, which is accompanied by anguish.
• Rejecting radical freedom and responsibility results in bad faith.

Ways to Escape Anguish (Living Inauthentically)

1. The Avoidance Response:
   • Avoiding anguish by abstaining from choosing any options in life.
   • Sartre argues that not choosing is, paradoxically, a choice itself.
2. The Serious-Minded Response:
   • Adopting religious or moral objectivism to evade subjective decision-making.
   • Believing in an objective source of value (e.g., God or goodness) external to individual decisions.
   • Living life according to this external objective source.
   • However, choosing to follow an objective source remains a subjective choice.
3. Bad Faith:
   • Refusing to accept the realities of the human condition: the absurdity of life, lack of inherent meaning, and complete freedom and responsibility.
   • Persisting in the belief that the world possesses meaning not attributed by humans (e.g., divinely ordained meaning).
   • Living life according to a pre-set social role, denying subjectivity and freedom of choice.
   • Objectifying oneself by organizing life around a role (e.g., a woman solely identifying as a mother).
   • This eliminates genuine decision-making, as actions are dictated by the expected behaviors of the chosen role.
   • Entails self-deception, as actions are determined by the requirements of the role.

The Waiter Example (Being and Nothingness)

• Illustrates the complexities of freedom and bad faith.
• Even a mechanical waiter retains freedom of choice (e.g., deciding how much parmesan to add).
• Such conscious choices within a role exemplify living in good faith.
• An authentic life involves freely choosing values and accepting full responsibility for them.

Sartre's Example: The Young Man's Dilemma

• A young man must choose between going to war or staying with his mother.
• There is no inherently "right" choice until he subjectively chooses one.
• The value lies not in what is chosen, but in how it is chosen.
• A choice made in good faith (without restraints) is valuable.
• One can sincerely choose something, even if it is morally questionable.
• The value of a choice is determined by whether it improves life.
• Good faith, the act of choosing itself, is the most important human achievement.

The Sincere Nazi

• First Nazi: Follows Hitler, proudly kills Jews → Good faith (takes responsibility, is free).
• Second Nazi: Joins Hitler out of fear, dislikes killing, lacks pride → Bad faith (does not make his own choice).
• Value and authenticity derive from free choice and ownership of actions, even when morally troubling.

Creation of Values

• Humans do not choose between pre-existing values; they create values.
• Career choices, for example, are subjectively valuable because the individual chooses them.
• "We" refers to each individual, not a collective group or society.
• Individual choices do not necessarily contribute to the whole of humanity.
• Values created through the proper exercise of freedom have a universal dimension.
• Other human beings can understand these values if placed in a similar situation.
• Even with subjective values, mutual understanding is possible because of shared humanity.
• "In every purpose there is universality" – every purpose is comprehensible to every man.
• Not every individual within the same category acts identically (e.g., not every cubist copies Picasso).