Jean Paul Sartre claims “man is condemned to be free”. (1946). Sartre is saying that humans are fully responsible for their own values and therefore responsible for themselves. Ultimately individuals must make their own choices without direction from institutions such as law, government and religion. Humans are free to choose whatever they like. Because of the freedom of choice humans are completely responsible for the choices they make. Existentialists believe that responsibility is tied to freedom. I agree with Sartre’s claim.
When a person makes a bad choice, they and them alone bear the responsibility of that choice. The same can be said when a person makes a good choice. They are solely responsible for the benefits that the choice brings. Existentialists do, however, believe that responsibility is dark side of choice. (Harle, 1999).
When Sartre writes that man is condemned to be free, he is elaborating on the statement that man is responsible for everything he does. If God does not exist, man must live his life without any guidance. Even if God does exist, he holds a silent position in the world of man in which case we are free anyway. Existentialists also believe that one cannot have excuses for their actions as they are entirely responsible for their own actions. One of the paradoxes that I saw in Sartre’s theory can best be looked at, as humans have no choice but to have choice.
Choice for humans ultimately means that we define our own images of ourselves. If God is not telling us what to and we are in charge of our own destinies, then we are in charge of our own self-perception.
I personally subscribe to this philosophy. For example, if a person gets into a car with a drunk driver and the car is in an accident, it is not the drunk drivers fault that you were hurt. You got into the car; it is your responsibility as it stemmed from one of your choices. This causal manner in which to look at responsibility is a good way of justifying Sartre’s philosophy to a logical mind.
“Sartre's atheistic Existentialism focuses on mankind's acts and responsibility when facing a universe devoid of laws and marked by a non-existence of God.” (Farzaneh, 2009). Laws are conceptual boundaries. People have the freedom not to abide by these law. They are then responsible for the consequences that this may bring. This shows us Sartre is correct in his statement. One could even say that slaves are as free as their masters. It may not be a convenient freedom but they are free to take their own live.
· Sartre, J. 1946. Existentialism is a Humanism.
· Harle, R. 1999. Condemned to be free.
· Farzaneh, A. 2009. Sartre’s existential philosophy in a nutshell. [Online]. Available: http://western-philosophy.suite101.com/article.cfm/sartres_existential_philosophy_in_a_nutshell [Accessed 15 March 2010].
No comments:
Post a Comment