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Introduction
Summary
1
Atheistic existentialism declares that if God does not exist there is at least one
being whose existence comes before its essence, a being which exists before it can be
defined by any conception of it. That being is man or, as Heidegger has it, the human
reality.
On the concept of consciousness, Sartre expounded on that man is the first thing
(creature) for whom existence precedes essence due to the fact that man is not created
but merely "appears on the scene". Then, can't it be said that all living creatures, indeed
all natural objects, since they are not created either, share in this feature that existence
precedes essence? How is human reality distinct in this respect? Sartre adds that
perhaps we should distinguish plant and animal life, which human beings and animals
take part in, from human life which is unique in that it is characterized by consciousness
which extends beyond the present moment into the past and future.
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On the concept of Responsibility and Anguish Sartre explains that human beings
are nothing but what they make of themselves. Thus, all are responsible for what they
are. But each individual is also responsible for all human beings. The human beings
essence according to Sartre is given subjectively, i.e. from within. (free choice). Man
can think of himself as different and in doing so he negates the present. Thus, he is
always more than the current sum of the facts about him. This negation is a condition of
freedom.
Reflection
3
I am a pure Christian. I was born in a Christian family who believes that God has
made all the creations in this world. This is the very reason that I do not agree with the
ideas of Sartre, him being an atheist. I believe in God. My beliefs are anchored on my
religion. However, in fairness to him for being an important exponent of philosophy, I
wish to give credits to him for advancing one idea that existentialism upholds- that
human beings have autonomy.
Before going into the depth of reflecting on the article of Sartre I believe it is
necessary to discuss the ideas of Existentialism and Humanism first. Existentialism is a
philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person
as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the
will. Humanism on the other hand is an outlook or system of thought attaching prime
importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress
the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs,
and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.
would like to begin with the charges made against the philosophy in question.
With respect to the first reproach, he characterizes existentialism as a humanism in that
it renders human life possible (more on this later). It is therefore not quietist, but is a
doctrine in which truth and action have an environment and a human subjectivity. I
agree with Sartre on this juncture. Quietism is a devotional contemplation and
abandonment of the will as a form of mysticism. The author advances individuality.
Therefore, it would be absurd to think that a person with full autonomy has abandoned
his will. The human being in this case is a free individual. When you have the freedom,
you also have the will to do whatever you like.
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have a choice; he/she begins in nothingness, and becomes that which he/she chooses
and does and he/she is completely responsible for that which he/she becomes,
whether for good or evil. In this way, the destiny of humankind lies solely with
humankind itself, with its self-commitment, with its choices and with its a cti o n s .
Sartre states that by subjectivism, he does not merely mean the freedom of the
individual subject, but, on a deeper level, that the human cannot transcend the situation
of human subjectivity as such. In this way, subjectivity does not mean that each of us is
free to choose, out of caprice, whatever we may wish. Returning, in a certain sense, to
the ethical universalization of the Kantian categorical imperative, Sartre states that as
we freely choose for ourselves, we are, at once, choosing for all humankind.
Sartre contends that we must begin with this position of self- attainment, of this
absolute truth of consciousness, since it grounds the otherwise probabilistic state of
affairs which is the situation in which the subject finds itself. He states that there must
be an absolute truth and that this is found in ones immediate sense of ones self.