What Does Sartre Mean When I Say That Man Is Condemned To Be Free

As defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, existentialism is “a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.” This is the main theory behind philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s work. Because of the absence of knowledge about right and wrong in existentialism, Sartre says that “[w]e are left alone, without excuse. This is what I mean when I say that man is condemned to be free” (32). In this sense, ‘condemned’ does not have a negative connotation to it. Sartre believes that it is a good thing that people are free to make their own choices in life instead of being locked into a set path without any chance to make their own choice. In this paper, I will argue that people are free to make their choices and that this leads to people being happier and more observant of the their actions.
To counteract this complexity, Sartre defines the main idea behind this philosophy as “existence precedes essence” (32) When Sartre says this, he means that people exist and are born before they create their ‘essence’, which is basically what defines us. Humans, artifacts, and plants and animals are the three categories of objects in the world.. For humans, “existence precedes essence” (32). It is the opposite for artifacts. For artifacts, Sartre says “essence precedes existence”. The idea of the artifact comes before it is created. For plants and animals, Sartre says that essence is the same thing as existence, or, in other words, “essence equals