Existentialism and Humanism - Essay Example

Is Sartre Right in Thinking That Existentialism is Humanism Is Sartre Right in Thinking That Existentialism is Humanism Existentialism andhumanism are two incredibly important issues, and although each certainly has their own differences, there are absolutely similarities as well, and in order to be able to properly and knowledgeable understand about each one, both the differences and similarities must be thoroughly examined and discussed. Jean-Paul Sartre is a well known philosopher who has one of the most well known opinions in regards to both of these subjects, and that is that he thinks that existentialism is actually humanism in itself. This belief of his has been debated on and battled by others, and in order to be able to come to a proper and informed conclusion in regards to any of this, we have to discuss what existentialism and humanism are, as well as what Sartre's thinking is in regards to this matter, and by doing this we will be able to become incredibly more critically understanding of this subject matter overall. This is what will be discussed in the following. Existentialism is basically a type of philosophical movement which tends to embrace the view that focuses on that of individual existence and subjectivity, and although it generally refers to the belief that one shapes in regards to one's basic nature and the way that they choose to live throughout their life, at the same time it captures much more than that. In part being a reaction to such names as Hegel and Nietzsche, it is a belief which considers that you are the one who is able to determine yourself, and that your personality and your own self is not given to you at birth, but rather it is given after you make decisions and thoughts and gain your personality. Humanism, on the other hand, is considered as being "a rational philosophy based on belief in the dignity of human beings, informed by science and motivated by human hope and human compassion. Humanists revere the natural world, knowing of no other place to set good examples, to work, and to show love". (Dorrell, 2002). People who are humanists are considered as being those who encourage moral excellence, have faith in other people to choose good over evil, promote positive relationships and human dignity, and who believe that moral values are neither divinely revealed nor that the special property in regards to any type of religious tradition. Basically existentialism and humanism have for the most forever been considered as being two separate and in fact almost opposite issues in a way, however there is one person in particular, of which we will be discussing critically in this dissertation, who believes in fact that 'existentialism is humanism'. This person is Jean-Paul Sartre, and Sartre, (June 21, 1905 - April 15, 1980), was a French existentialist philosopher, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. He was one of the most noted and leading figures in all of 20th century French philosophy, and the opinions that he made over his life, especially that in regards to existentialism and humanism being one in the same, have been argued against or agreed with by some of the most influential people in the world's history since his day. When Sartre was a junior lecturer at the Lycee du Havre in the year 1938, it was then that he wrote the novel entitled La Nausee, which even to this day remains as being one of his most popular books of all, and it has been considered by many that this particular literary work of his was one which in ways served as a sort of manifesto of existentialism. He shows in this book how he believed that "our ideas are the product of experiences of real-life situations, and that novels and plays describing such fundamental experiences have as much value as do discursive essays for the elaboration oh philosophical theories". (Wikipedia, 2007). Beginning from there, Sartre began to become even stronger in regards to his view on how existentialism is humanism, and he began to use Edmund Husserl as a sort of backing man, in that he rebelled and argued against many of Husserl's points and ideals. Husserl, a German philosopher, was known as being the 'father of phenomenology', and the two had many contrasting points of view, after all, ""For Husserl, eidetic analysis is a clarification which brings out the higher level of the essence that is hidden in 'fluid unclarity'For Sartre, the task of an eidetic analysis does not deliver something fixed immanent to the phenomenon. It still claims to uncover that which is essential, but thereby recognizes that phenomenal experience is essentially fluid". (Philosophy, 2007). The position that Sartre has on existentialism goes almost perfectly parallel to that of the position of Husserl, and as Sartre later puts it in Existentialism is Humanism, "to be human is characterized by an existence that precedes its essence. As such, existence is problematic, and it is towards the development of a full existentialist theory of what it is to be that Sartre's work logically evolves". (Philosophy, 2007). In order to be able to even remotely be able to determine whether or not Sartre was right when he stated that he believed that existentialism is humanism, we truly have to set his point of view against another, and Husserl's is the perfect point of view to do this against, not only because he was so respected and credible, but also because of how much their view's parallel one another. While Sartre was more about the simplicity of existentialism and that we create ourselves, Husserl was into the matter of phenomenological existentialism, which, as a philosophy or a psychology, is not at all as tightly defined as other systems; its adherents are quite easily defined at the same time however, easily identified by that of their strong and severe emphasis on that of the importance of individuals and in regards to their freedom and how they can use their freedom to participate in their own creation of self. In Sartre's work Existentialism is a Humanism, his ideal begins with the fact that humans should stop wasting all of their time wondering about their existence, such as why they are here, and how they got here, for instance, and instead begin focusing more on simply accepting it as a fact. As he believed: "You and me are real people, operating in a real world. We are not figments of each other's imagination. I am the architect of my own self, my own character and destiny. It is no use whingeing about what I might have been, I am the things I have done and nothing more. We are all free, completely free. We can each do any damn thing we want. Which is more than most of us dare to imagine". (Hughes, 2000). Sartre believed that the existentialist frankly states that man is in anguish, and that thus in these terms that when he commits himself to anything he is not able to escape from, that he is then thereby legislating for the whole of mankind; however in Sartre's own opinion, it is rather that "in truth one ought to ask what would happen if everyone did as one is doing, to try to escape from such a disturbing thought is a kind of mauvaise foi". (Hughes, 2000). Sartre's main point is that existentialism is humanism because there are no explanations for why we are here or what we are doing here, but rather, we simply are. He believes that it is a waste of time to sit and pore over excuses and meanings so that we can use them as a sort of explanation in order to make ourselves feel safer or more understanding, and that rather we should simply live, without question, and without worry. In conclusion from this review, we can see that Sartre was a man who truly wanted to get his point across that we are simply beings that are here for no reason, with no explanation. There are many people throughout the span of time that have argued against or agreed with Sartre's views, and even to this day his work is being constantly critiqued and reviewed by various different people; some of the most influential persons of our time have spent their lives trying to come to terms with whether or not Sartre was right in his beliefs and his opinions, and to this day there was really been no other answers other than that of personal opinion and bias. Therefore, although we can conclude many things from this review, we can only conclude a personal opinion based upon that of Sartre and others' views, as well as the research and documentation that has come about over the years, and in my opinion, although Sartre has many good points in regards to his argument of how we simply are, and how "We are left alone, without excuse" (Hughes, 2000), at the same time, his points cannot truly be proven as being factual, as there is much other information out there that goes to show that there are in fact reasons for us being here and that there is more to life and to living than just being. Although his question of who can we ask to get this answer is understandable, in the same regards it really goes both ways, in that there is no one there to prove that we are not here for anything more or that we are doing more than just being and living while we are here. Therefore the subjection of whether or not Sartre is right in his beliefs basically has to be either argued or agreed upon depending on personal decision, as there is really no factual evidence or proof that can go against either point of view enough to make it unbelievable. References Derrida, J. (1976). Undecideables and Old Names: Derrida's Deconstruction and Introduction to Husserl's The Origin of Geometry. Dorrell, H. (2002). What is Humanism Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www.humanistsofutah.org/what.html Hughes, G. (2000). The Condensed Edition of Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism is Humanism. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www.btinternet.com/glynhughes/squashed/sartre.htm Myerson, G. (2002). Sartre's Existentialism and Humanism: A Beginner's Guide. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Philosophy. (2007). Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): Existentialism. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/sartre-ex.htm Wikipedia. (2007). Jean-Paul Sartre. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sartre Read More