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Sartre Sartre, which we place among atheists, stress that central concern of philosophy is human existence. He says that human being is a special kind of consciousness (being-for- itself). Everything else is matter (being-in-itself). He believes that human being has no God-given essence and is absolutely free and absolutely responsible. According to him, anguish is the result of the absolute freedom and responsibility. He also says that human existence is absurd and unjustified.
Therefore, the goal of human being is to justify his / her existence. (2) Sartre believes that there are those in our history who have established a religion to reassure nothing more than what he calls a "fundamental project. " That means that when we become anguished by the affairs of life we pursue a fundamental project in attempt to flee this anguish. He says that we try to make ourselves Gods in hopes that others would see us divine, and hold us in higher regard. To pursue a fundamental project according to Sartre is to act in a bad faith. "To act in a bed faith is to manifest our freedom inauthentic ally. " (3) Sartre believes that man experiences two primary phases of consciousness in his life, the spontaneous phase in which man does nothing more than pursue a particular task which means that man is in shallow mode of being, and the reflective phase of consciousness In reflective phase, man realizes that he is not alone in this world and this realization is not without consequences. When men acknowledges that there are others that makeup the society in which he exists, the man discovers that he has identity. People know who he is and what he does, then he discovers that he is "a being in the world of others" (4) If man can acknowledge his facility situation, that is accept that he is a being with biological and social past, that means that he is according to Sartre acting clear headed, and in good faith. This means that man manifests his freedom authentically and therefore his freedom is real.
I think that Sartre's tenets are applicable to life. I can think of many occasions in which we face realizations we are not prepare for and act without a clear head, and this not allows us to achieve peace of our minds. Once a clear head is put to use, Sartre says, the reconciliation and peace of mind will come (5) As atheist, Sartre states that no one can escape from his / her freedom, and that the human being is absolute free, and as he believes there is no Got, that means that our freedom is unrestricted. We and only we are responsible for our own life and choices we make every each day and emotions, motives, and social and political institutions can't limit it. We, and only we are responsible for accepting others opinion about ourselves and other things. A person, who is labeled as ugly, for example, doesn't have to accept this opinion, like we dont have to accept that abortion is bad.
Ethical choices we make through our life are our own and are very subjective. But our responsibility extends far beyond this personal dimension. Our responsibility reaches other human being, or maybe, entire human race. By deciding the way we act, we create of image of ourselves, which we want others to accept, approve and follow. But most people try to avoid this responsibility, the painful anguish by falling into, like Sartre says, bad faith, or self-deception.
The painful truth is that no one else but we are responsible for our actions. Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism was published in 1947. In it he describes the aspects of existentialism as well as defends accusations made about existentialism. His main argument is existence precedes essence. This means that we have the choice in everything we do.
We are responsible for our destiny and we are nothing more than what we make of ourselves. The only choice we do not have is that of having choices; we are condemned to be free. This comes with consequences. It results in anguish, forlornness, and despair. The feeling of total and complete responsibility causes anguish. Forlornness is caused by having to face the consequences of complete freedom.
Despair is the result of having to choose between different probabilities that arrive out of having a choice. Thee atheist existentialist believes there is no God. Without a God there is no human nature, morals or ethics built into humanity. There is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. (Sartre, 25) Without human nature, existence precedes essence. (Sartre, 23) There is no plan for man that exists before man exists himself. Man is left to make of his life, as he wants. Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. (Sartre, 25) There is complete freedom in everything a man chooses to do.
He will choose his own destiny. If existence really does precede essence, man is responsible for what he is. (Sartre, 25) Man is also responsible for humanity because every decision that is made as an individual has an impact on all of mankind. We do not only mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men. (Sartre, 25 - 26) Every man sees what he thinks as the perfect man. And, every decision this man makes is based on that which he thinks is good and will sculpt him into what is closer to that perfect man. In creating the man that we want to be, there is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we thing he ought to be. (Sartre, 26) How close a man gets to what he sees as perfection is the choice made by the man. The harder he works; the closer he becomes.
He exists only to the extent that he fulfills himself. (Sartre, 35) Man has no choice, but to make choices. This is the only choice that does not have to be made because it has already been made. The atheist view is that man was created and thrown into this world by someone or something that is unknown. Once thrown into this world without a choice, the decision-making begins. Man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet, in other respects is free; because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. (Sartre, 29) A man has no choice but to mold the self into what a man and a nation of men ought to be.
Religion tells a man what this should be. So religion should not be followed in order to stay cautious of this. The existentialist does not think that man is going help himself by finding in the world some omen which to orient himself. Because he thinks that man will interpret the omen to suit himself. Therefore, he thinks that man, with no support and no aid, is condemned every moment to invent man. (Sartre, 30) Freedom, gives cause for anguish.
When a man realizes that he is completely responsible for himself and all of mankind, he cannot help but feel deep responsibility. This brings on anguish. Everyone is anxious. Those who say they are not are hiding from their anguish. There are many who are not anxious; but we claim they are hiding from their anxiety, that they are fleeing from it. (Sartre, 27) Anguish can lead to a person choosing not to choose. They give up their responsibilities in order to release the anguish.
There is no question here of a the kind of anguish which would lead to quietism, to inaction. (Sartre, 28) But the anguish never disappears; it will always catch up to the man that runs from it. When we speak of forlornness we mean only that God does not exist and that we have to face all the consequences of this. (Sartre, 28) When God does not exist, there is no moral system. The idea of finding this moral system leaves when God leaves. This causes forlornness. The existentialist thinks it very distressing that God does not exist, because all possibility of finding values in a heaven of ideas disappears along with Him. (Sartre, 29) Forlornness is very similar to anguish in that it the pain caused by having to make a decision when there is no right and wrong. Forlornness implies that we ourselves choose our being.
Forlornness and anguish go together. (Sartre, 33) Bibliography: Barnes, Wesley. "Is Existentialism Definable?" The Philosophy and Literature of Existentialism. Woodbury: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. , 1968 Douglas W. Shade, Ashok K. Malhotra. "Pathways To Philosophy." Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1996.
p. 83 - 86, 87 - 93, 97 - 100 Sartre's Thoughts On Personality, web
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