Jean-Paul Sartre primary aim is to advance arguments in defense of existentialism as humanism and address several counter-arguments from critiques. Some of the reproaches of existentialism are that it not only makes people dwell in despair but also considers humanity in isolation and denies the seriousness and reality of human affairs.
Sartre response to the criticism focuses on examining the concepts of anguish, abandonment, and despair. One of the argument by Sartre focuses on subjectivity. Sartre indicates that human subjectivity is unequivocally free because the commencing point for any man is subjectivity such that, man defines his essence basing on own terms and has the liberty to decide on whatever he wants (Sartre 3,15). Thus, understanding that we are free from any objective morality endows us with great obligation. The anguish referred to by Sartre originates from the knowledge that, being free compels us to make a decision (Sartre 3).
According to Sartre, it is invalid to argue that man is not able to make choices because by not choosing, one is already making a decision (Sartre 11). Therefore, man cannot escape his/her freedom by blaming deterministic excuses but must take responsibility for any action he/she makes. To that effect, Sartre continues to say that, only interpretations, but not general ethics, guide man in making right decision hence meaning that emotions attributed to a given action are heralded by the action itself (Sartre 5,7).
However, by underlining that human subjectivity is unequivocally free and that it precedes its essence, it may be challenging because it may infringe other peoples rights. Does Sartre forget the robust history of human subjectivity in which we dwell? While the capacity for meaningful choice is liberating, we must choose but not to deny freedoms of both ourselves and others.
Work Cited
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism. 1946.
