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EXISTENTIALISM IS A HUMANISM“THE ESSENCE IS THE FUNDAMENTAL THING THAT MAKES SOMETHING WHAT IT IS,
THE DEFINING ATTRIBUTE OR CHARACTERISTIC, THAT IT IS INNATE IN EACH AND EVERY ONE
OF US, AS WELL AS IN EVERY EXISTING THING. WE ARE BORN WITH AN ESSENCE. “
According to Sartre, this would be the opposite of his way of thinking. His theory
implies that existence precedes essence; we define our essence, first exist, and then
develop who we are; “Man, first of all, exists, encounters himself, surges up in the
world, and defines himself afterward”. So, Man is indefinable because he first is
nothing, and after making choices, we create who we are. Existence is prior essence;
Man is responsible of what he is. “Thus, the first effect of existentialism is that it puts
Man in possession of himself as he is and places the entire responsibility for his
existence upon his shoulders.”
Existence is envisioned as an absolute actuality, not as something static that can
be stated to be, but as something that produces itself in freedom, that becomes, and
that is a project. As a result, existence is limited to beings who have the ability to live
freely.
We are ultimately responsible for our choices, and we need to live as if we are about
ready to do is going to be copied by the entire world, “In fashioning myself I fashion
humanity, I have to act as if everyone is watching.” This quote may seem confusing but
if you give it a thought you will quickly understand that he wanted us to act with
respect and comprehension towards the world. So, how would the world be like if
everyone in the world would do what you are about to do at this moment? Sartre says
that this is the level of responsibility we should take. He would say that your choices
are responsible for all humankind, and by choosing, you are also choosing for all
mankind. All this responsibility is the anguish of freedom.
This stern optimism he shows in his theory is given by the fact that he was an
atheist, and by many it can be seen as a negative approach; Sartre would say it is not.
He rejected the existence of God, by this saying that we were not created for a specific
purpose, we are not guided in our choices, our lives are not planned. We need to make
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