Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism Is a Humanism

question 28

Essay

Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism Is a Humanism
Sartre defines existentialism as the view that "existence precedes essence." To explain this definition, Sartre considers the example of manufactured objects, such as books or paper cutters. Such objects are produced in accordance with a preexisting plan, which specifies their nature and their intended use. In this sense, their essence precedes their existence. Human beings, Sartre contends, are different from such objects in a critical way. In Sartre's view, there is no human nature because there is no God to conceive of it. Instead, humans find themselves existing with no predetermined purpose or essential nature. As a consequence, we must invent ourselves in the absence of any objective standards to legitimate our decisions.
That we find ourselves in the world without a predetermined essence, presents each one of us with the full weight of responsibility. Each of us must choose what we are to be, for we are nothing but what we make of ourselves. In so choosing, however, we are not choosing merely for ourselves. To choose to be something, Sartre claims, is to affirm that thing as valuable, not just for oneself but for all people. Thus, each of our choices commits us to "an image of man as we think he ought to be." To acknowledge this is to be in a state of anguish, for we naturally feel unqualified to impose our own ideals on others. Nonetheless, we have no choice - this is a consequence of our freedom, and we are "condemned to be free." Existentialism, Sartre concludes, is a philosophy that provides no excuses. Each of us is wholly responsible for who we are, and for choosing the standards by which we will guide our lives. If we fail to make something of ourselves, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
-Explain Sartre's case of the student facing the moral dilemma. What options does the student face, and why is it difficult for him to decide? What advice does Sartre give the student? What advice would you give?

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