PHIL304: Existentialism

7a. Identify Sartre's contributions to existentialism

• What did Sartre do for existentialism that previous philosophers had not?
• Name some important contributions Sartre made to existentialism.

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) did more to popularize the existential movement than any previous philosopher. Sartre's particular brand of existentialism, his popular 1956 lecture "Existentialism is a Humanism", and the horrors of World War II each brought existentialism into the mainstream.
 
Sartre was concerned with human freedom, choice, responsibility, and authenticity. We see in Being and Nothingness (1956) that these concepts are derived from his thinking about consciousness and his commitment to atheism. His most famous phrases, "existence precedes essence" and "man is condemned to be free", reflect the significant influences of George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Karl Marx (1818–1883) and reveal the direction of 20th-century existentialist themes.
 
To review, see Jean-Paul Sartre and Sartre's Life and Works.
 

7b. Summarize Sartre's analysis of consciousness as a nothing

• Define ontology.
• What is Sartre's notion of being in itself?
• What is Sartre's notion of being for itself?

Ontology is the philosophical discipline that studies being or existence. There are two kinds of being: the in itself (en soi) and the for itself (pour soi). Things that are in themselves just are: they exist. However, we can use our intentionality of consciousness and directedness to interpret or negate the for-itself from the world.
 
Consciousness is not a thing in itself. In other words, consciousness has no essence, but it is our relationship, interpretation, or perception of the in-itself. To the extent that "categorization requires saying where the class ends: where the lack of that class lies", our consciousness can negate itself. And this is a part of the job of the for-itself, as the "source of all negation" (McClamrock).
 
Again, consciousness has no essence: it is part of the objects to which it is directed. In this sense, the in-itself occurs prior to consciousness. The essence of things, and our awareness of things, are really one and the same (because we apply our interpretation to what we perceive in the world as conscious human beings).
 
This leaves self-consciousness, the ego, or the I. There is awareness, and then there is reflected awareness; in a sense, we are aware of our awareness in a special way. For example, when we read a novel, we are aware that we are reading a novel. Our awareness is, ontologically speaking, transcendental; we are not in the world in the same way that being in itself or being for itself are.
 
To review, see Bad Faith and Cultural Values.
 

7c. Summarize Sartre's version of atheistic existentialism

• What is atheistic existentialism?
• How is Sartre's declaration "existence precedes essence" relevant to his atheism?
• How is the radical freedom to choose – a creative act, according to Sartre – relevant to atheism?

Sartre's declaration that existence precedes essence means that essence is a creative act; "there is no given human nature".
 
As Rob Harle, a lecturer from the University of Cambridge, explains, Sartre believed that if God were "a supernal artisan" and created human beings in His image, the essence of the person would be predetermined, and humans would not be free to make their own choices or define their own essence. Human beings would lack the ability to choose the essential what-it-is-to-be-me.
 
To review, see Existentialism Is a Humanism.
 

7d. Discuss Sartre's idea of freedom

• How does Sartre's view of freedom address natural determinism?
• How does Sartre's ontology relate to his idea of freedom?

Sartre acknowledges our facticity, that is, facts about ourselves, over which we have no control. For example, we have no control over when or where we are born. These facts are not relevant to our freedom. Some features of our lives are determined, but they do not make us free or unfree.
 
For Sartre, freedom correlates, from a practical standpoint, with our choices. Each choice we make is ours. No one else can choose for me, and our choices are not illusory: we do not erroneously believe we are making a choice when, in fact, we are not. Instead, these choices are real.
 
To review, see Freedom and the Structure of Experience and Being and Nothingness.
 

7e. Analyze Sartre's notion of authenticity

• Describe the relationship between Sartre's notion of authenticity and freedom.
• Describe the relationship between Sartre's notion of authenticity and bad faith.

According to Sartre, human freedom is unavoidable. Every choice I make is not only mine; it is also characteristic of who I am. Because every choice is mine, and mine alone, I am entirely responsible for what I choose and what I become. To recognize this responsibility is to be authentic. When, instead, I try to project blame and proclaim that my actions are dominated by my situation, I act in bad faith.
 
Bad faith is self-deception. When I do not take responsibility for my choices and actions but foist the responsibility off onto someone or something else, I act as if I am a thing, not a conscious human being, which is determined by forces outside my control.
 
To review, see Sartre and Authenticity.
 

Unit 7 Vocabulary

Be sure you understand these terms as you study for the final exam. Try to think of the reason why each term is included.

• bad faith
• Being and Nothingness
• choices
• consciousness is not a thing
• existence precedes essence
• for itself (pour soi)
• in itself (en soi)
• Jean-Paul Sartre
• man is condemned to be free