Jean
Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
"As
a man, if
a certain Jean-Paul Sartre is remembered, I would like people to
remember the milieu or the historical situation in which I lived, the
general characteristics of this milieu, how I lived in it, in terms of
all the aspirations which I
tried to gather up within myself. This is how I would like to be
remembered".
"I made my choice deliberately. A man is
what he wills himself to
be".
"Man condemned to
be free carries the whole world".
-Jean-Paul Sartre
Existentialism
Review of
Nietzsche:
1. transitional
figure- (between Modernism of 19th century, post-modernism of 20th
century)
a.)
theorist who describes possibility of shared meaning & morality
without
foundations
b.)
views individual aesthetic life as ideal (beyond ideas of
morality & ethics)
c.)
laws and moral codes are arbitrary and should not be imposed on
ubermensch' by society
d.)
freedom & realization of individual perspective/vision is the
best use a person could make of life.
e.)
multiple perspectives/visions are equally valid & possible
2. Nietzsche
lays foundation for existentialism (20th century philosophy)
a.
Sartre is primary spokesperson for existentialism
Sartre's
biography:
a. born
into middle class (bourgeoise), unhappy childhood
b.
graduate degree in philosophy
c.
drafteed into French army in 1935 to fight Nazis
d.
imprisoned in POW camp for 4 years
e. helped
fight in the French resistance when freed from camp- 1941
f. wrote
books, plays, journals- became public intellectual for rest of his life
g. human
rights advocate as he aged, regardless of ideology
1. attacked Soviet invasion of Czechoslavakia
2. sided with Israelis in 1973- "Yom Kippur" war
3. 1979, pushed "Camp David" accords- Sadat of Egypt, Begin of Israel
h. received
awards- refused them
1. "Legion of Honor"' medal from French government
2. Nobel prize in literature
Premises
of Existentialism:
a.
roots in Nietzschean thouight
1.
no moral foundations to describe or direct how best to live one's
life
2.each person needs to live as individual, not as someone who follows
crowd
and society's ideas of what is right and wrong.
a. must think &
decide for oneself
b. cannot choose to
use patriotism, nationalism, group affiliation as excuse, no blind
obedience allowed
We
all know
how many common sayings can be quoted to this effect, and they all mean
much the same – that you must not oppose the powers that be; that you
must not fight against superior force; must not meddle in matters that
are above your station. Or that any action not in accordance with some
tradition is mere romanticism; or that any undertaking which has not
the support of proven experience is foredoomed to frustration; and that
since experience has shown men to be invariably inclined to evil, there
must be firm rules to restrain them, otherwise we shall have anarchy.
3. each person is self-made
a. constructed from sum of choices made, in the context of life
situations
b. human nature is always trying to 'become" , striving to find meaning
, perpetual self-creation
c. 'existence precedes essence'.
d. the meaning of your life is
determined by the choices you've made- a self-created tapestry
We
mean that man first of all exists,
encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself
afterwards. If man as the existentialist sees him is not definable, it
is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until
later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. Thus, there is no
human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man
simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but
he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing
– as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing
else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first principle of
existentialism. And this is what people call its “subjectivity,” using
the word as a reproach against us. But what do we mean to say by this,
but that man is of a greater dignity than a stone or a table? For we
mean to say that man primarily exists – that man is, before all else,
something which propels itself towards a future and is aware that it is
doing so. Man is, indeed, a project which possesses a subjective life,
instead of being a kind of moss, or a fungus or a cauliflower. Before
that projection of the self nothing exists; not even in the heaven of
intelligence: man will only attain existence when he is what he
purposes to be. Not, however, what he may wish to be. For what we
usually understand by wishing or willing is a conscious decision taken
– much more often than not – after we have made ourselves what we are.
I may wish to join a party, to write a book or to marry – but in such a
case what is usually called my will is probably a manifestation of a
prior and more spontaneous decision. If, however, it is true that
existence is prior to essence, man is responsible for what he is.
ex. gh day
4.
human condition is radical freedom
a. responsibility & consequences creates heavy burden
b. humans forced to choose, accept consequences of actions
c. not choosing is still choosing
5. embracing
responsibility & implications of choices is how to live authentic
life
a. people evade choices by deceiving themselves about their freedom to
choose- 'bad faith'
b. highest ideal is striving for authenticity- accepting
responsibility, avoiding self- deception
6. existential crisis- is when two moral beliefs are in conflict w/
each other. How you choose determines who you are.
a. ex. soldier w/ sick mother , sophie's
choice
6.
Human life characterized by anguish, despair
a.
no escaping total responsibility, not just for individual, but for
collective society
b.
recognition of absurdity of existence
1. life is contingent, random
2. why here? why now?
The
existentialist frankly states that man is in anguish. His meaning
is as follows: When a man commits himself to anything, fully realising
that he is not only choosing what he will be, but is thereby at the
same time a legislator deciding for the whole of mankind – in such a
moment a man cannot escape from the sense of complete and profound
responsibility.
c. humans
have to construct meaning, to explain the unexplainable, including
human origin.
1. meaning of God
2. Sarte is atheist, won't let humans off the hook
d. only in
death, or facing death, do humans know meaning of life
1.
it defines them and creates end to personal story
2.
death is final nothingness, lose life struggle to create meaning
3.
awareness of impending death is best way to be authentic
3.
life is alienation
a.
ppl hide from realization of own freedom
b. alienation from
other people
1. make into objects, "OTHERS"
2. no possibility of true communication
3. domination is closest form of connection with OTHER
4. parents/children, partners, friends
c.holding others accountable for actions & choices is
recognition of dignity of humans
1. unlike animals, they can choose or not
choose to act
2. actions are sum total of reality (wishes do
not count)
c. alienation from
society/ government
1. do social/cultural values help ppl hide from true reality of
situation?
2. are cultural messages a form of distraction?
3. how much of what ppl want is what they need? how much is created by
system?
d. alienated from
human institutions, bureaucracies, political
parties, corporations, etc.
1.
large impersonal, not affected by human actions
2.
no meaning derived from them, take on life of own.
e. alienated from
history
1.
no roots in meaningful past
2.not moving towards meaningful future
3. ex. "waiting for godot", existential play
Morality:
1.
difficult to define with certainty
2.
do what feels authentic
"I
am my own existence, but my existence is
a nothingness. I live then without anything to structure my being and
my world, and I am looking into emptiness and the void, hovering over
the abyss in fear and trembling and living the life of dread".
Nevertheless, when one says, “You are nothing else but
what you live,” it does not imply that an artist is to be judged solely
by his works of art, for a thousand other things contribute no less to
his definition as a man. What we mean to say is that a man is no other
than a series of undertakings, that he is the sum, the organisation,
the set of relations that constitute these undertakings.
Comparison of
well-lived life to life, not well-lived
1.positive impact on other ppl to exclusion of self
2.
evolved person moves from self-gratification to life that represents
universality of humanity
Political
system:
1. need to be skeptical to be authentic
2. civil disobedience is authentic response, so is
obedience, both define you
3.
cannot
escape responsibility for collective decisions made in your name
a. if you had freedom to influence events and
didn't, you are responsible for what didn't happen
b. is this fair?
How much
of
this
philosophy is reflection of human reaction to situations of his
generation? (post wwII)
How much
of
belief
of human choice is reflection of egotism? Aren't something determined
by context?
If
everyone is an existentialist, what would collective society look
like?