Sartrean Existentialism (Part 1 of 3)

Existentialism is a particular school of thought in the history of philosophy that greatly interests me. This is because I believe that –in it’s Sartrean form- existentialism both gets so much right and gets so much wrong. But first, it’s helpful to step back and take a look a the basics of existentialism. What are its basic assumptions about reality? What are it’s motives and goals?

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre developed his brand of existentialism building off of the teachings of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. But, unlike Kierkegaard, and following in the footsteps of Nietzsche, Sartre rejected the notion that God, especially the God of the Christian Scriptures, exists. Interestingly, Sartre admitted that his belief in atheism distressed him. He wished that there was purpose, direction, and a loving hand guiding his life. But instead, all he found was the cold, hard, “thrownness” of human existence. This gets at one of the foundational tenets of Sartrian existentialism, a denial of any objective human nature or coherent pattern for the world around us.

There is no God to create us in His image, so human life is not inherently sacred. There is no God to tell us what is good and beneficial for human flourishing, and neither is He there to warn us of which actions dehumanize us and harm others and our world. In summary, there is no objectively “given” code of ethics and behavior, nothing inherently evil or good. Likewise, we aren’t the special creation of a loving Creator, but instead the products of blind, natural forces; an infinitesimally small bubble of sea foam floating in the infinitely large sea of nothingness and meaninglessness. So, if there is no human nature, there is no “pattern” or end toward which we should strive. Here Sartre flips the ancient philosopher Aristotle on his proverbial head. Aristotle taught that we all have an essence, something that determines what we are, and our entire existence is defined in terms of “becoming what we are.” We fulfill our potential by becoming fully human. Essence precedes and guides existence.

For Sartre, just the opposite is true; existence precedes essence. Since we have no human nature, our essence is determined by our lived life, the actions we take and the choices we make. Thus, if someone was to ask, “Who is Joe?” We couldn’t really answer that question while I was still living, since my time period to define who I am (my life span) isn’t over. Only after my existence comes to an end can we determine my essence. Now, this can have both good and bad ramifications. On the one hand, it means that I cannot be defined by the poor choices I’ve made. Essentially, I can remake myself by altering my decisions and taking another course of action. My failures don’t define me because the “whole story” isn’t in yet. On the other hand, we cannot ever, if Sartre is correct, say that we “know” a person’s character, since they are radically free to change their “essence” with any given decision. This leads to the next major foundation to Sartre’s thought, one already hinted at thus far, radical freedom.

If no God exists, and we have no human nature to direct us how to live, then, according to Sartre, we are “radically” free. The freedom that Sartre speaks of is radical because we are ultimately accountable to no one but ourselves. The responsibility for our actions cannot be passed off to something, or someone (or someOne) else. This is what Sartre speaks of as “bad faith.” Bad faith is the label Sartre uses to categorize the actions of someone who explains their choices in terms of causes or influences other than their own will. To say that I had to make decision X because of my heredity, environment, human nature, or divine will is, essentially in Sartre’s mind, to “pass the buck” and avoid responsibility and ownership for my own life. Instead, we are to be “authentic” persons, people who embrace our actions and take ownership of our lives.

Notice here though that I have spoken nothing of how one is to life their authentic life. That is because Sartre himself wasn’t aiming to tell us which actions we are to take. In fact, in principle Sartre only lays out two “rules,” 1) Be authentic, and 2) don’t live in “bad faith.” So, if my method of authentic living is to become a tyrant, that’s fine (remember, for Sartre, there are no moral absolutes), likewise if I choose to serve others to my dying breathe. Objectively speaking, there is no moral difference between the actions of Hitler and Mother Theresa. In fact, thinking in terms of “objectivity” is a no-no to Sartre; it denies the ultimacy of subjectivity that he prizes so greatly.