Sartre’s “Existentialism is a Humanism”
G. J. Mattey
Spring, 2017 / Philosophy 1
Existentialism
•Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a leading proponent of a style of philosophy
known as “existentialism.”
•He did a great deal to popularize existentialism through his literary work and his
popular essays.
•In “Existentialism is a Humanism,” Sartre tries to explain what existentialism is
and to defend it from various criticisms.
•Sartre’s existentialist slogan is that human existence is prior to human essence.
•My essence, the kind of person I am now, is the product of the free choices I
have made in the course of my life.
•In describing humans as self-made, Sartre faced two kinds of criticisms:
–The communists say that we would be forced into inaction,
–The Christians accuse him of overthrowing the basis of morality, which is
divine command.
•Both sides claim that there would be no human solidarity.
Existence and Essence
•The prevailing philosophical view of human beings is that they have a “nature”
or “essence” which greatly constrains what they can become.
•For example, Christians take humans to be created by God in accordance with a
prior concept of humanity.
•Sartre denies the existence of God, and he thinks that this has the consequence
that there is no human essence.
•People first exist, then make themselves into whatever it is they become.
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