Existentialism is a Humanism Jean-Paul Sartre - Notes

Defense of Existentialism

• Sartre aims to defend existentialism against several reproaches (Sartre 1).

• Existentialism has been accused of:

  • Inviting people to dwell in quietism and despair (Sartre 1).

  • Underlining the ignominious aspects of the human situation (Sartre 1).

  • Neglecting the solidarity of mankind and considering man in isolation (Sartre 1).

  • Denying the reality and seriousness of human affairs (Sartre 1).

Response to Reproaches

• Sartre addresses these reproaches in his exposition, "Existentialism is a Humanism" (Sartre 1).

• He clarifies that existentialism renders human life possible and affirms that every truth and action implies both an environment and a human subjectivity (Sartre 1).

• The charge of over-emphasis on the evil side of human life is addressed by questioning why existentialism is considered more scandalous than naturalism (Sartre 1–2).

• Sartre suggests that the alarm caused by existentialism stems from its confrontation of man with the possibility of choice (Sartre 2).

Definition of Existentialism

• Existentialism is often misunderstood and loosely applied (Sartre 2).

• Sartre defines it as a doctrine that believes that existence comes before essence (Sartre 2).

• This concept is illustrated by contrasting the creation of a paper-knife with the existence of man (Sartre 2).

Paper-knife Analogy

• A paper-knife is created by an artisan with a pre-existing conception and technique (Sartre 2).

• The essence of the paper-knife (the sum of its qualities and the formula for its production) precedes its existence (Sartre 2).

• This reflects a technical standpoint where production precedes existence (Sartre 2).

God as Creator

• When God is considered the creator, he is often viewed as a supernal artisan who knows precisely what he is creating (Sartre 2–3).

• The conception of man in the mind of God is seen as comparable to that of the paper-knife in the mind of the artisan (Sartre 3).

• Each individual man is the realization of a certain conception within the divine understanding (Sartre 3).

Atheistic Existentialism

• Atheistic existentialism declares that if God does not exist, there is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence: man (Sartre 3).

• Man first exists, encounters himself, and then defines himself (Sartre 3).

• There is no human nature because there is no God to have a conception of it (Sartre 3).

• Man is what he makes of himself, and this principle is often called "subjectivity" (Sartre 3).

• Man is of greater dignity than inanimate objects because he propels himself towards a future and is aware of doing so (Sartre 3).

• Man is a project with a subjective life, and his existence is attained when he is what he purposes to be (Sartre 3).

Responsibility

• Because existence precedes essence, man is responsible for what he is (Sartre 3).

• Existentialism puts every man in possession of himself and places the entire responsibility for his existence on his own shoulders (Sartre 3).

• Man is responsible not only for his own individuality but for all men (Sartre 3).

• Choosing for oneself implies choosing for all men, as every action creates an image of man as he believes he ought to be (Sartre 3–4).

• Choosing between options affirms the value of what is chosen, as we always choose the better, and what is better for us must be better for all (Sartre 4).

• Our responsibility is greater than we suppose, as it concerns mankind as a whole (Sartre 4).

• Personal decisions commit not only oneself but humanity as a whole to a certain practice or image of man (Sartre 4).

• In fashioning oneself, one fashions man (Sartre 4).

Anguish, Abandonment, and Despair

• These terms help to understand the implications of existentialism (Sartre 4).

Anguish

• Anguish arises when a man commits himself, realizing he is choosing what he will be and legislating for all mankind (Sartre 4).

• This creates a sense of complete and profound responsibility (Sartre 4).

• Many disguise or flee from this anguish, but it is always present (Sartre 4).

• One should always ask oneself what would happen if everyone did as one is doing (Sartre 4).

• The anguish is similar to Kierkegaard’s "anguish of Abraham," where one questions the source and validity of commands or signs (Sartre 4).

• Ultimately, it is I myself who must decide whether a voice or sign is trustworthy, and I bear the responsibility for imposing my conception of man upon mankind (Sartre 4).

• Every action is an example for the whole human race, and one should consider whether they have the right to act in such a way that humanity regulates itself by what they do (Sartre 4).

• This anguish is not a cause for quietism or inaction but a condition of action itself, as it acknowledges a plurality of possibilities and the value of the chosen one (Sartre 5).

  Abandonment

  Abandonment means that God does not exist, and we must draw the consequences of his absence to the end (Sartre 5).

• Existentialists oppose secular moralism, which seeks to suppress God while retaining certain values as a priori obligations (Sartre 5).

• With God's absence, there is no possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven, and there is no good a priori (Sartre 5).

• Dostoevsky's idea that "If God did not exist, everything would be permitted” is a starting point for existentialism (Sartre 5).

• Man is forlorn because he cannot depend on anything within or outside himself and is without excuse, condemned to be free (Sartre 5).

• There is no determinism, and man is free, responsible for his passion and actions (Sartre 5).

• Man is condemned at every instant to invent man, and one is forsaken in the present (Sartre 5).

Example of Abandonment

• A student is faced with a dilemma: going to England to join the Free French Forces or staying near his mother and helping her to live (Sartre 5–6).

• Christian doctrine and Kantian ethics offer no clear guidance in this situation (Sartre 6).

• Trusting instincts is also problematic, as feelings are formed by deeds, and one cannot consult them as a guide to action (Sartre 6).

• Seeking counsel from others is also a form of commitment, as the choice of adviser implies a pre-existing inclination (Sartre 6).

• The only reply is: "You are free, therefore choose — that is to say, invent" (Sartre 7).

• No rule of general morality can show you what you ought to do, and no signs are vouchsafed in this world (Sartre 7).

Jesuit's Example

• A Jesuit interpreted a series of setbacks as a sign that he was not intended for secular success and that only religious attainments were accessible to him (Sartre 7).

• This decision as to the meaning of the sign was his and his alone, and he bears the entire responsibility for it (Sartre 7).

Despair

• Despair means limiting oneself to a reliance upon that which is within our wills or the sum of probabilities that render our action feasible (Sartre 7).

• One does not rely upon any possibilities beyond those that are strictly concerned in one’s action and should disinterest oneself beyond that point (Sartre 7).

• There is no God or prevenient design to adapt the world to one’s will (Sartre 7).

Marxists' Argument

• Marxists argue that one can rely upon the help of others and what they will do later to take up one's action and carry it forward to its final accomplishment (Sartre 7).

• Sartre counters that he can only count upon comrades-in-arms in the struggle who are committed to a definite, common cause (Sartre 7–8).

• He cannot count upon men whom he does not know or base his confidence upon human goodness or man’s interest in the good of society (Sartre 8).

• The future is uncertain, and men are free agents who will freely decide, tomorrow, what man is then to be (Sartre 8).

Action and Commitment

• This does not mean abandoning oneself to quietism but committing oneself and acting one's commitment (Sartre 8).

• It does not mean not belonging to a party but being without illusion and doing what one can (Sartre 8).

• There is no reality except in action, and man is nothing else but what he purposes, exists only in so far as he realizes himself, and is the sum of his actions (Sartre 8).

Reproaches Against Existentialism

• Existentialism is not a philosophy of quietism but defines man by his action (Sartre 8).

• It is not a pessimistic description of man but is optimistic, placing the destiny of man within himself (Sartre 8).

• It does not discourage man from action but tells him that there is no hope except in his action (Sartre 8).

• Existentialism is an ethic of action and self-commitment (Sartre 8).

Individual Subjectivity

• The point of departure is the subjectivity of the individual for strictly philosophic reasons, not because we are bourgeois (Sartre 9).

• The foundation is the truth: "I think, therefore I am," which is the absolute truth of consciousness as it attains to itself (Sartre 9).

• This theory is compatible with the dignity of man and does not make man into an object (Sartre 9).

• The subjectivity postulated as the standard of truth is not narrowly individual subjectivism but discovers others in the cogito (Sartre 9).

• Contrary to Descartes and Kant, when we say "I think" we are attaining to ourselves in the presence of the other and are just as certain of the other as we are of ourselves (Sartre 9).

• The other is indispensable to my existence and to any knowledge I can have of myself (Sartre 9).

Inter-Subjectivity

• We find ourselves in a world of "inter-subjectivity" where man has to decide what he is and what others are (Sartre 9–10).

Human Universality

• Although there is no universal essence called human nature, there is a human universality of condition (Sartre 10).

• This condition includes the limitations that define man’s fundamental situation in the universe, such as the necessities of being in the world, having to labor, and having to die (Sartre 10).

• These limitations have both subjective and objective aspects (Sartre 10).

• Every purpose is of universal value and comprehensible to every man (Sartre 10).

• Human universality is not something given but is being perpetually made, both in choosing oneself and in understanding the purpose of others (Sartre 10).

Absolute Commitment

• At the heart of existentialism is the absolute character of the free commitment, by which every man realizes himself in realizing a type of humanity (Sartre 10).

• This commitment is always understandable, no matter whom or in what epoch (Sartre 10).

• There is no difference between free being and absolute being or between being as an absolute and universally intelligible being (Sartre 10).

Subjectivism

• The charge of subjectivism appears in several forms:

  • "Then it does not matter what you do." (Sartre 10).

  • "You cannot judge others, or there is no reason for preferring one purpose to another." (Sartre 10).

  • "Everything being merely voluntary in this choice of yours, you give away with one hand what you pretend to gain with the other." (Sartre 10).

Responses to Subjectivism

• It is not correct to say that it does not matter what you choose, as it is not possible not to choose (Sartre 11).

• Even if a choice is determined by no a priori value, it has nothing to do with caprice (Sartre 11).

• Moral choice is comparable to the construction of a work of art, where there are no aesthetic values a priori, but values appear in due course in the coherence of the picture (Sartre 11).

• In both art and morality, we have to do with creation and invention, and we cannot decide a priori what it is that should be done (Sartre 11).

• Man makes himself by the choice of his morality and cannot but choose a morality (Sartre 11).

• We define man only in relation to his commitments, and it is absurd to reproach us for irresponsibility in our choice (Sartre 11).

Judging Others

• It is true that whenever a man chooses his purpose and his commitment in all clearness and sincerity, it is impossible for him to prefer another (Sartre 11).

• We do not believe in progress, as man is always the same, facing a situation that is always changing (Sartre 11).

• Nevertheless, we can judge, as one chooses in view of others and in view of others one chooses himself (Sartre 11–12).

• Choice can be founded upon an error or upon the truth, and we can judge a man by saying that he deceives himself (Sartre 12).

• Self-deception is a falsehood because it is a dissimulation of man’s complete liberty of commitment (Sartre 12).

• Freedom, in respect of concrete circumstances, can have no other end and aim but itself (Sartre 12).

• Men of good faith have, as their ultimate significance, the quest of freedom itself as such (Sartre 12).

• As soon as there is a commitment, I am obliged to will the liberty of others at the same time as my own (Sartre 12).

• I cannot not will the freedom of others (Sartre 12).

• Those who seek to hide from themselves the wholly voluntary nature of their existence and its complete freedom are cowards, and those who try to show that their existence is necessary are scum (Sartre 12).

• Thus, although the content of morality is variable, a certain form of this morality is universal (Sartre 12).

• The one thing that counts, is to know whether the invention is made in the name of freedom (Sartre 12).

Maggie Tulliver and La Sanseverina

• Maggie Tulliver sacrifices herself and gives up the man she loves in the name of human solidarity (Sartre 13).

• La Sanseverina declares that a grand passion justifies its sacrifices and must be preferred to banality (Sartre 13).

• These are two clearly opposed moralities, but they are equivalent, seeing that in both cases the overruling aim is freedom (Sartre 13).

Creating Values

• To say that we invent values means neither more nor less than this; that there is no sense in life a priori (Sartre 13).

• Life is nothing until it is lived; but it is yours to make sense of, and the value of it is nothing else but the sense that you choose (Sartre 13).

• Therefore, there is a possibility of creating a human community (Sartre 13).

Humanism

• Humanism has two very different meanings (Sartre 13).

Two Meanings of Humanism

• One may understand by humanism a theory that upholds man as the end-in-itself and as the supreme value (Sartre 13).

• This kind of humanism is absurd, as only the dog or the horse would be in a position to pronounce a general judgment upon man and declare that he is magnificent (Sartre 13).

• We do not want a humanism like that, which ends in Comtian humanism and Fascism (Sartre 13).

• The other sense of the word is this: Man is all the time outside of himself; it is in projecting and losing himself beyond himself that he makes man to exist (Sartre 13–14).

• It is by pursuing transcendent aims that he himself is able to exist (Sartre 14).

• Since man is thus self-surpassing and can grasp objects only in relation to his self-surpassing, he is himself the heart and center of his transcendence (Sartre 14).

• There is no other universe except the human universe, the universe of human subjectivity (Sartre 14).

Existential Humanism

• This relation of transcendence as constitutive of man with subjectivity is what we call existential humanism (Sartre 14).

• This is humanism because we remind man that there is no legislator but himself and that he himself, thus abandoned, must decide for himself (Sartre 14).

• It is not by turning back upon himself but always by seeking, beyond himself, an aim that is one of liberation or of some particular realization, that man can realize himself as truly human (Sartre 14).

Conclusion

• Existentialism is nothing else but an attempt to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position (Sartre 14).

• It is not atheist in the sense that it would exhaust itself in demonstrations of the non-existence of God (S

SEP:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/