1.3 Jean Paul Sartre Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was one of the leading figures in 20th Century philosophy. A French intellectual, writer and activist, he is best known for his pioneering ideas on existentialism. He wrote a number of books, including the highly influential Being and Nothingness, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964, though he turned it down. Like the work of most other philosophers, Sartre’s contribution to the discipline is difficult to condense, if one must truly do justice to it in its entirety. In his book Being and Nothingness (1943), Sartre created a distinction between two states of being; beings in-themselves and beings-for-themselves. Inanimate objects or entities that are unconscious are called
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When man becomes aware of the unavoidable freedom to act that characterizes his existence, he experiences a deep sense of anguish. Sartre often communicated using parables. One anecdote he used from his own life to illustrate his axiom “man is condemned to be free” was that of a student of his who came to him for advice during World War II. The student lived with an aged mother, for whom he was the sole provider of care and comfort. At the same time, this student was inspired by the fight against fascism and wanted to join the Free French. Thus, he had approached Sartre for advice in the face of having to make a difficult choice; to stay and support his helpless mother, or to join the war and contribute to a greater cause. Sartre’s response to his student exemplifies the painful human condition of having unbounded freedom to choose. Sartre reports telling his student that there was nothing that he – Sartre – or any other authority could tell him about his quandary. The choice was entirely the student’s to make, and the consequences his to
When man becomes aware of the unavoidable freedom to act that characterizes his existence, he experiences a deep sense of anguish. Sartre often communicated using parables. One anecdote he used from his own life to illustrate his axiom “man is condemned to be free” was that of a student of his who came to him for advice during World War II. The student lived with an aged mother, for whom he was the sole provider of care and comfort. At the same time, this student was inspired by the fight against fascism and wanted to join the Free French. Thus, he had approached Sartre for advice in the face of having to make a difficult choice; to stay and support his helpless mother, or to join the war and contribute to a greater cause. Sartre’s response to his student exemplifies the painful human condition of having unbounded freedom to choose. Sartre reports telling his student that there was nothing that he – Sartre – or any other authority could tell him about his quandary. The choice was entirely the student’s to make, and the consequences his to