Jean-Paul Sartre, “Existentialism is a Humanism” (1946) PHIL 102, UBC Christina Hendricks Fall 2015

Sartre in 1967Sartre in 1967, photo by Milner Moshe, posted on Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 3.0CC BY 3.0 Sartre around 1950 Sartre around 1950 (public domain) , France In the 1970s, with Simone de BeauvoirIn the 1970s, with Simone de Beauvoir. Licensed CC BY 3.0 by toile-libre.org. Licensed CC BY 3.0

Existence and Essence For manufactured objects, essence precedes existence

Existence and Essence Possible to think of humans this way too

Sartre’s view of humans “Existence comes before essence” (3) Still, there is no fixed essence in the sense of human nature, for Sartre.

Determinism and Freedom “there is no determinism—man is free, man is freedom” (8) Determinism: every event is necessitated by causes and conditions that came before it Could not have happened differently

Human choices not determined

Not free to choose everything There are some things about us we can’t choose to change (including our past) But we can choose what to think, feel and do in the situations we find ourselves in

Universal human “condition”

Heavy responsibility With so much freedom comes much responsibility: “if … it is true that existence is prior to essence, man is responsible for what he is” (5). Can’t make excuses based on emotions because we can choose not to be swayed by them (8).

Responsibility for all “And when we say that man is responsible for himself, we do not mean that he is responsible only for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men” (5).

Responsibility for all May be focusing on general values: “resignation,” “monogamy” (5, 6) Shared human condition (above) could support this claim Why should you get to make an exception for yourself?

Morality Sample bases for moral decisions: Platonic forms Religious guidelines Non-religious moral guidelines Advice from others No moral absolutes beyond human choices (8) Always a matter of our choices Created by Michael V. Suriano for the Noun Project

Moral Relativism? Objection : “You cannot judge others, for there is no reason for preferring one purpose to another” (17). German troops parade through Warsaw, Poland, 1939German troops parade through Warsaw, Poland, Public domain on Wikimedia Commons.

Sartre’s replies Can judge others for logical error of pretending they don’t have a choice when they do (19)

Your views Anything still unclear? What do you agree with or disagree with, in Sartre’s views?