Celebrities Acting with Humanism

Existentialism, a philosophical ideology conceptualized by Jean-Paul Sarte, encapsulates most thought processes where “the individual is obliged to make a choice as though he were choosing for all mankind” (Arnold, “Jean-Paul Sarte: Overview). Put simply, Sarte’s concept of existentialism is the thought process by which humans find themselves existing, and the analysis of their existence itself (Tulloch, Sartrian Existentialism). This analysis of existence found itself in many writings during the twentieth century, and acts a driving force in both Bishop’s “In the Waiting Room” and Lispector’s “The Daydreams of a Drunk Woman”.

There is no universal essence that can define every being, there is no divinely-inspired archetype for the human to aspire to (called the adam-kadmon in Hebrew mysticism), as the existence of such a blue-print for our essence would preclude freedom and bind us to an average, everyday homogeneity. Considerations of freedom and choice are the crux of existential philosophy, and being that Sartre is one of the primary philosophers of Existentialism, he examines both concepts with a critical eye in Being and Nothingness. Sartre states plainly that authentic choices are wholey and fully undetermined; if we choose and decide based merely upon the edicts of a religious code or some sort of secular ethical

Jean-Paul Sartre in his book ‘Being and Nothingness’ provided us with a new interpretation of freedom consistent with his famous account on existentialism. This is the view that existence precedes its essence: “In a word, man must create his own essence: it is in throwing himself into the world, suffering there, struggling there, that he gradually defines himself” (Sartre, 1943), (Onof, 2016). Here, Sartre stated that humans are completely free and that this comes at a cost, as ultimately, we have the burden of responsibility. Nonetheless, of main consideration, is discussing Sartre’s theory of the ‘radical freedom’ of consciousness. This view is where he explained that at every second of decision-making, we have the possibility to modify ourselves, i.e. by participating in what Sartre calls ‘new projects’. But, this view is undermined, as it has the potential to jeopardise our very existence in the world (Onof, 2016).

Yesterday, I enrolled for class. Now this decision was definite as I couldn’t go back and not enrol. However, the actual action of me actually attending was completely my choice; a conscious decision. Although it was compulsory to attend, nothing given could determine the outcome. John Paul Sartre an eminent existentialist, would argue that just because I made a commitment didn't necessarily mean I needed to follow through with it. Enrolling was part of the facticity of the in-itself. I had only made the decision, I had to follow through with an action. Sartre would contend that by forcing myself to attend if I didn’t want to would be trying to escape from my freedom. Sartre, stated that the basic principle of existentialism was existence precedes essence for human beings. In his essay, Existentialism is Humanism, Sartre attempts to answer the accusations. Essentially, he rejects the notion of any innate human nature; implying that because our essence comes to be after our existence, we are free to choose and live our lives accordingly. This essay will discuss Sartre’s explanation of the expression and the related implications.

As there is no deterministic god or destiny, people are the sole determiners of their actions, according to Sartre, and thus fully responsible for them.

“Sartre believes mankind cannot escape responsibility by adopting an external moral system, as this in itself is a choice that we approve, implicitly or explicitly. He argues that, one cannot escape responsibility, as an attempt to separate one's self from their freedom of choice.”(Onof) “With freedom comes much more responsibility. Sartre feels that in bad faith however, the being is fleeing from more than just freedom, it’s fleeing from several aspects of its life, basically any type of lying. “(Solaman) “This inner anguish over moral uncertainty shows a personal feeling of responsibility over the choices one makes throughout their life’s.” (Onof)

However, our thought process that there might be the slightest chance that our situation will work for the best, motivates us to move in that direction of choice. Take Christopher McCandless for example; a graduate from Emory University as a top athlete and student with a bright future. Rather than taking the safe route, his freedom of choice caused for him to embark on a journey in the Alaskan wilderness. His bohemian actions furthermore, provoked a dramatic end to his journey as he died of starvation. The importance of this example nonetheless, is the fact that we are aware that McCandless was in complete control of his situation, but decided to use his freedom of choice to move in a direction in which he thought he can succeed in. These findings articulate the work of Sartre and his central claim on existentialism. Another example of how man is an autonomous individual comes from the thought process of every high school senior; whether or not it is the right time to attend college. Given our freedom of choice, we have the ability to pursue any career we aspire for with the thought process that everything will work out as we hope

Existentialism was a philosophic and literary movement that peaked in popularity in the mid 1900’s. First expounded by Sartre, the movement was initially a description of humanity, and attempted to define what it meant to be human. In defining this, existentialism addressed questions about human mortality, and the significance of life. One of the main principles in Sartrean existentialism is the concept that “existence precedes essence” (Existentialism, Stanford Encyclopedia of

A second concept of existentialism is Bad Faith. French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre believed that Bad Faith is the fundamental issue that prevents individuals from living an authentic life. He focused on the concept of radical freedom, in which the individual always has a choice. Since life itself and the universe is absurd, humans are completely responsible for creating their own destiny. Every action performed by the individual ultimately stems from the innate freedom they possess. Sartre looks at the darker aspects of freedom, and notes how “Man is condemned to be free” (Löwith 123). He is suggesting that individuals are thrown into a meaningless world, where he or she is forced to decide for him or herself. As rational beings, humans seek answers and guidelines for how to live, because they do not want to decide for themselves. Because, deciding for oneself means holding oneself responsible for every action performed. The thought of complete and utter responsibility frightens people and influences their decisions to commit acts of bad faith.

It was in the 19 Th centuries where a French writer Jean-Paul Sartre who popularized the concept of existentialism this was during his play No Exit. Sartre explained Existentialism, which states on the belief that life has no meaning. Each is separate from all other individuals, so each person has the power to place himself in the position he wishes, that every individual is responsible for his actions. (Reynolds)People should be responsible for themselves rather than make excuses for the occurrences in their life, the belief that humans have free will. The play was published in 1943.

Existential is a philosophical movement that believes every individual is responsible for what they make of themselves because they have the authority to create their own life plan meaning, and that existence precedes essence. This was used through many forms of arts by many different people. Jean Paul Sartre was one of those people. He produced a well known play known as “No Exit.” This play was based on the existentialist philosophy movement. It was created to explore the settings and diversity of the characters to connect the themes to his actual belief and reality.

Jean-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 '. With this, phrase lies the basis for the argument that Existentialism is a Humanism. In this essay, I shall attempt to explore and evaluate Sartre 's argument that "existentialism is a humanism" by unpacking what is meant by ‘existence precedes essence '. I will argue that although the overall argument tends to be a good one, there are several points which could have been improved upon.

One of the main existentialists was Jean-Paul Sartre who was French, and he started by proposing the “Existentialism is humanism.” This means that we assume the God is dead and we have to rely on our own existence. Sartre also believed that humans were in a different sense than other things like plants, leaves, etc, and that we have a different essence from them. Sartre also believed that human nature was fake and that it is human’s fate to do what we want. Although his views were filled with sadness, he believed that everything has a meaning. Life has a meaning but the individual can figure out their own meaning of life. Sartre argued that our thoughts and emotions allow us to think of the world in a different way.

Existential philosophy became prevalent in the twentieth century as a symbol of the destruction of culture and tradition following World War II, asserting the hopelessness of humanity and focusing on life in a more honest but pessimistic manner than other socialistic philosophies. The philosophy recognizes the fact that humankind is capable of great evil and has limitless possibilities, yet this is a curse rather than a blessing: we are condemned to be free and are thus held accountable for our actions. The ludicrousity, however, is found in the existentialist belief that life has no purpose, and while the choices that we make are irrelevant on grand scale, they ultimately influence our self-definition. Jean-Paul Sartre postulates that

The question of human subjectivity has plagued the minds of philosophers for centuries. Existentialism attempts to answer this question by recognizing humans not as beings who exist through the tethers of an objective deity, but rather as beings who exist as agents of free will. In his lecture "Existentialism is a Humanism," philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre explores principal ideas of existentialism—and of the human condition—by responding to the objections of many secular groups and their misinterpretation of this philosophy. These critics of existentialism, according to Sartre, have incorrectly accused it of being a philosophy that could only lead to a "quietism of despair" (Sartre 1). In other words, they have assumed that it is a philosophy of nothing but idleness—one that is merely contemplative and will deter people from committing themselves to any course of actual action. Others reprimanded existentialism for being exaggeratedly pessimistic and for concentrating solely on the undignified attributes of the human condition. Sartre refutes these assertions by making connections between existentialist views and the more accepted philosophy of humanism. His overall argument, in its simplest form, is as follows: