Jean Paul Sartre was dead by the time I graduated from high school, but I have to agree with a little known philosopher by the name of Mike Mulligan who claimed that Sartre was “the bee’s knees when it came to existentialism.”
Existentialism stresses individuality and choice, which people always claim to value. The three main tenets existentialism are: 1) everything a person does affects those around them, 2) each person is responsible for all society, and 3) the world wouldn’t change with or without god. Simple enough. Obviously, it’s the third tenet to which people will take exception, but I’ll come back to that later.
So … Our actions affect other people. How? Ideally, knowing that our actions affect others should make people think before they act, something which is common sense, but which not all people think about what they do. The smallest of our actions have a big impact on both others in our daily lives and on society in general. For example, the way a parent treats his or her child affects that child’s daily life, his or her general personality and future behavior, and also affects the way that child treats other people, for better or worse. Our actions (including our words, which are events) travel well past our immediate location. How people act is a reflection of how they want society to be. If I spend my days telling people the honest truth about things, I am doing so because I believe that everyone in society should do the same. If I lie to people occasionally about small things to protect their feelings, I do so because I believe it would benefit me for others to protect my feelings. If I lie to others often about unimportant things, it is because I don’t believe in the importance of truth, or I don’t see the harm in manipulation.
Jean Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, but he rejected it because he didn’t want to be “institutionalized.” His refusal is shockingly honest and admirable, because he didn’t care what the world of academia thought of his ideas; he simply wanted to share them. He devoted his life to study, but he had the capacity to enjoy life as well. He was not a sad, miserable, pretentious (well, maybe), misanthrope. He simply didn’t believe in the mainstream ideology of humanity. He believed that he could control his own life, and that it was unnecessary to explain away all the minutiae by using god and/or religion.
Yes, Jean Paul was an atheist. GASP! What a terrible profanity society has turned that word into. Religion has so infected people’s thinking that most rational, intelligent people shut down when they hear the word atheist. “No god? Surely you must be joking?!” But my argument for Sartre’s accuracy of thought far exceeds the idea of god being real or not; Sartre makes religion irrelevant, because he puts the power to be good or bad directly in the hands of the people. Free will.
“I exist by defining myself at every moment.” JPS
Let’s go back to the central ideas which Sartre presented:
1. Freedom is existence, and existence precedes essence. Sounds complicated, but isn’t. What we do and how we act determines who we are. People are a continuous process of behavior – we are what we do. Sometimes I can embrace that idea and be satisfied with my choices and other times I am a bit appalled that I don’t follow my instinctive behaviors, but ultimately the way we act IS who we are. How can we deny that? Religious people may call themselves sinners and proclaim that mankind is born under a bad sign (or whatever), but people don’t sin because they can’t control themselves; they simply act on their instincts rather than thinking before they act. OR, they choose to do the “wrong” thing because they want to, and they beat themselves up about it, because the act had bad consequences. Sometimes, though, poor choices, spontaneously irrational behavior, and gut reactions teach us the most about who we are and what we believe. The resulting consequences may not be what we foresaw or expected or even wanted, but they are what makes us. We are free to act any way we want.
2. The focus is on the subject rather than the object. Humans aren’t pawns – they shouldn’t manipulate or be manipulated. This one is much easier said than done. I think that anyone who reads the second sentence would agree with it (except maybe politicians and cheaters), but when put into practice, not manipulating people is very, very hard. I do it every single day. I manipulate my children into acting a certain way and doing certain things, I manipulate my students into trying to think and exert effort on assignments, I manipulate my spouse into helping me achieve the things I think we need done, I manipulate my parents into thinking I still need their advice and support. We all do it, but it belittles us when we do. We are not being our “best” selves if getting what we want takes emotional larceny.
3. Freedom is the central and the unique potential which constitutes us as human. In other words, “man is condemned to be free.” We choose. WE choose. No one else does. We can rationalize that other people influence us or manipulate us, but in the end, we are free to do what we want. Period. That concept is terrifying, because it means that all the things I do not have or do not want to do (but still DO) are on my shoulders. They are my choice. I am free to stop them from happening or to choose differently. It’s much easier to blame other people than it is to be free.
4. You are your own choices. Seemingly repetitive, but worth the second look. Even if you don’t choose … you choose. Inaction is still action. Not doing something leads to a series of consequences. If I choose not to deal with an issue (big or small), my inaction does not make the issue go away. People think that ignoring things is easier, but generally, avoiding something just makes it more stressful later, which is why it is so essential to actively choose rather than passively backing in to something which we did NOT choose. I’d rather be in charge of my life than just accept what comes when other people decide for me. I choose not to leave my life up to “fate,” whatever that is.
5. Responsibility rejects inevitable circumstances. You are responsible for every choice you make. People make seek advice from others when trying to decide what to do with their lives, but ultimately, people choose the adviser based on what they want to hear. If I can’t afford to get my roof fixed, but I know that not doing so will void my homeowner’s insurance, I will call my father, who will talk me into fixing it. I will not call my friend who smokes pot and lives in his mother’s basement. Common sense. Conversely, if I want to get high, but I haven’t done so in a very long time, I will not call my father, who will point out that pot makes me stupid; I will call my friend who smokes pot occasionally and enjoys it thoroughly. We look for the answer we want before we even ask it.
6. Past determinants seldom tell the crucial information. If we look into out past, we can reveal a wealth of information, unfortunately, that information is not always the best source of knowledge. If a person had an unfortunate experience with an African American, for example, he or she might be led to believe that all black people suck. That would be an unfair assumption, but it would be directly tied to past determinants. If we could get rid of all the excess baggage of what we “think” we know, we could approach the world with renewed vigor and honesty (I know, there’s that word again). Looking into the past to “remember what we know” is disingenuous at best. Only with an open mind can we really experience life with true excitement, otherwise, everything is jaded by what could have been or how we are colored by a previous experience with people or places.
7. Our acts define us. Again this concept may seem repetitive, but a person can THINK what they want all the time, but what they DO is what defines them. People watch others all the time, and they judge accordingly; so to be seen as a good person, it is necessary to do good things. That means all the time, even when you think no one is looking. How hard is that?! Incredibly tough. If I tell my children not to drink, but they see me drinking cocktails every night to wind down, my actions are speaking louder than my words. If I talk about being passionate for environmentalism, but I don’t do simple things like recycling or conserving energy in my own home, my words are empty and meaningless.
8. Finally, we continually make ourselves as we are. Every day is a process of becoming ourselves, regardless of age or station in life. People can and do change over time, so we are constantly becoming who we are.
None of these ideas has intrinsic ties to religion, but each of them factors into the major tenets of religious teachings. The most obvious exclusion in Sartre’s ideology is that everything comes back on the individual; there are no excuses for who we are and what we do. Existentialism forces people to take responsibility for their lives and reject the ingrained avoidance of accountability that permeates society. Limiting ourselves to that which is in our power to accomplish is not “giving up” – it is simply being realistic. Putting one’s fate or decisions in a “higher power” is just another way of not choosing. Sartre’s philosophy is empowering and inspiring, not nihilistic.
Repeat after me: “I AM FREE!”
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