What does Sartre mean when he claims, in Existentialism and Humanism, that human ein!

s are "condemned to e #ree$% &he 're(ailin! mode o# 'hiloso'h) with re!ards to understandin! action and #reedom at the time that Sartre wrote *+istentialism and ,umanism was determinism- &his essa) ho'es to e+'lore Sartre.s disa!reement with the conclusions and methodolo!) that the deterministic model 'roduces- With /nowled!e o# Sartre.s 'oint o# (iew it is 'ossi le to !o on to understand what he means when he writes human ein!s are "condemned to e #ree$Determinism is a (er) road term that encom'asses man) di##erent schools o# thou!ht- &he #undamental 'rinci'le is #or e(er)thin! that ha''ens there are conditions such that, !i(en those conditions, nothin! else could ha''en- We are here ta/in! the word determinism to re#er to the sli!htl) more s'eci#ic causal determinismCausal determinism ar!ues the 'h)sical idea o# "Cause0and0e##ect$- &hat is to sa) that there can e on e##ect, that doesn.t ha(e a 'rior cause- &his acts as an e+tremel) use#ul 'hiloso'h) to ado't when considerin! em'irical research- ,owe(er 'ro lems e!in arise when we e!in to consider wide issues such as #reedomIt is use#ul to de#ine what we mean ) #reedom at this 'oint- 1reedom as de#ined here is the a solute #reedom to decide- We are not re#errin! to a #reedom in a 'h)sical s'ace or #rom laws and !o(ernin!- ,ere we tal/ a out more #undamental #reedom in which we control our own actionsIn the deterministic model e##ect can onl) #ollow cause- We are iolo!ical creatures- We e+ist as a collection o# chemical that are ound ) the laws o# 'h)sics- Consider the im'lications that this has thou!h #or the conce't o# #ree will- In this deterministic 'icture we could in theor) trace ac/ throu!h all the causal chains to #ind 2as'ects o# oursel(es. that 'ro(ide the 'rimar) cause o# actions&he conce't la elled as 2as'ects o# oursel(es., or what Sartre calls one.s 21acticit)., are #acts a out oursel(es and our li(es that su''osedl) de#ine us- &his is the 'o'ular methodolo!) used in some 's)cholo!ical anal)sis- &he 3atient has 's)chosis 4 ecause o# e(ent B in their childhood&a/in! this 'rinci'al to its lo!ical e+treme then it would a''ear that determinism and the conce't o# #reedom or a #ree will are not com'ati le- 5ur actions are merel) the 'roduct o# our e+'eriences and our !enetics- &hat we ha(e no #ree will ut merel) react to stimuli-

Benjamin Corcoran

CID: 00641025

6ean03aul Sartre #er(entl) disa!rees with the conclusions drawn in the deterministic 'ictureSo much so he !oes as a #ar as to call trust 'ut in a deterministic 'icture an act o# "Bad 1aith$- In *+istentialism and ,umanism 718 he writesman is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment that he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does 718. &o understand Sartre.s (iew that we are condemned to e #ree we ha(e to #irst consider the ar!uments that he ma/es to uild to this conclusion- ,e de(elo's his ar!ument to this 'oint ) maintainin! a sustained attac/ on di##erent as'ects o# the determinist theor)It is im'ortant to note e#ore di(in! dee'er that Sartre #irst de#ines two cate!ories o# 2thin!. that e+ist in the world- &here are 2thin!s0in0themsel(es. and 2thin!s0#or0themsel(es.- 9 thin!0 in0itsel# is a 'urel) o jecti(e 'icture o# an o ject- Sartre de#ines a 2thin!0#or0itsel#. as an o ject that will not act unless acted u'on- &he majorit) o# western 'hiloso'h) considers all thin!s as reduci le to thin!s0in0themsel(es- &he deterministic 'icture in 'articular considers all thin!s as thin!s0in0themsel(es9 2thin!0#or0itsel#. howe(er is a thin! that is a 'rimar) cause- It is a le to act without #irst ein! acted u'on- It is this distinction that Sartre attem'ts to 'ro(e- B) doin! so he would e a le to show that the deterministic model is not com'lete and so conclusions drawn #rom it are e:uall) incom'lete or ina''lica le- It is Sartre.s aim here to show that we, as human ein!s, are not just o jects ein! acted u'on ut 2thin!s0#or0themsel(es.&he #irst ar!ument Sartre 'uts #orwards a!ainst the deterministic 'icture is that determinism anal)ses the world as it is com'letel) de(oid o# meanin!- Sartre attem'ts to show that the world anal)sed ) determinism is not the same world in which we in ha it ut rather that we e+ist in a world #illed with meanin!- B) i!norin! the meanin! that the world has to us determinism does not create a com'lete 'icture&his conce't o# meanin!#ulness is (er) similar to ,eide!!er.s idea o# ein!0in0the0world- 9 strict de#inition is o# meanin!#ulness is o#ten hard to :uanti#)- In Bein! and &ime 728 ,eide!!er writes: n everyday terms, we understand ourselves and our existence by way of the activities we pursue and the things we ta!e care of"o exist then means among other things, relating to oneself by being with beings 728 ,ere ,eide!!er and similarl) Sartre ar!ue that we li(e and act in a world that is #undamentall) meanin!#ul to us- We do not just react to sensor) data- ,eide!!er !i(es the

Benjamin Corcoran

CID: 00641025

e+am'le o# someone smilin!- When )ou see someone smile do )ou see a smile or do )ou see a collection o# muscle mo(ements that )ou 'rocess internall) where )ou decided that the 'erson is 'ro a l) smilin!% ,eide!!er would ar!ue that i# )ou answer the latter then an)one should e a le to #ull) descri e the e+act chan!e in 'osition o# each muscle in(ol(ed- ,e ar!ues that it is the artist who can do this ecause he is trained to see the muscles mo(ements- ,e is trained to see the world without meanin!&he im'lication here is that as human ein!s the world has a meanin! to us more than just what is 'h)sicall) ha''enin! in #ront o# us- Sartre 'ro(ides a 'er#ect e+am'le o# this in his ar!uments with re!ards to e+'ectations&he stor) is thus- We arran!e to meet 3ierre at a ca#;< howe(er when we arri(e at the ca#; 3ierre is not there- With this e+tremel) concise 'icture Sartre 'oint is made- We arri(e at the ca#; we react to the #act that 3ierre is not there- We are not reactin! to sensor) in'ut< there is no raw data we are ta/in! in a'art #rom an em't) chair- We are reactin! to the di##erence etween our e+'ectations o# the situation and the realit) o# itIn Sartre.s words it is our e+'ectations that de#ine our e+'erience, i# this is indeed the case then the deterministic model does not ta/e this into account- &hen he ar!ues that i# the model does not ta/e into account one o# the #undamental methods with which we interact with the world its conclusions cannot e a com'lete descri'tion o# us,e 'ro(ides one #inal e+am'le #or a meanin!#ul model o# our world that ears mentionin!In this e+am'le Sartre re#lects on his idea o# " ein!0#or0others$ am what am as observed by other people. 7=8 In this e+am'le Sartre sat with his ear !lued to a door tr)in! to o(erhear the con(ersation that is ha''enin! on the other side- ,e ar!ues that in the moment that he does this, he is not conscious o# himsel# ut com'lete en!rossed in the act o# ea(esdro''in!- It is onl) when he ecomes aware o# someone standin! ehind him that he realises the #ull e+tent o# what it is he is doin!- ,e has ecome a 'ee'in!0tom- 7=8 In his words it is the !a>e o# the other that ma/es us sel#0conscious- It is the !a>e o# the other that ma/es us ado't the o jecti(e (iew o# oursel(es- We are constantl) encounterin! and ein! encountered ) other 'eo'le- &he) ta/e the (iew o# us as a 2thin!s0in0 themsel(es., as an o ject in their world- When we encounter this we suddenl) ecome aware o# oursel(es in the in0itsel# (iew- In the e+am'le when Sartre realises someone is

Benjamin Corcoran

CID: 00641025

watchin! him he ecomes the character o# a 23e''in! &om.- ,e is no lon!er himsel# ut the o jecti(e (iew o# his actions&he rele(anc) o# the ar!ument is that it shows that this o jecti(e?deterministic?thin!0in0 itsel# (iew is our #undamental #orm o# interaction with the world- It arises as the 'roduct o# the 'resence o# others- Sartre here attem'ts to show that the world that we act in is a more com'le+ one than the deterministic model 'resents@ow that Sartre has set u' the idea that the we li(e in a world that is not #ull) accounted #or ) the deterministic 'icture he sets out to show how the conclusions drawn #rom said 'icture, s'eci#icall) with re!ards to #reedom, do not re'resent realit)Sartre considers the idea o# choice and how the deterministic model deals with choice- ,e 'resents the #ollowin! scenario: 9 )oun! 1rench man, tormented with a decision to ma/e, comes to Sartre and as/s "5h !reat wise 6ean03aul Sartre )ou must hel' me- I do not /now what to do- Should I !o join the resistance and #i!ht #or a #ree 1rance% 5r I should sta) and hel' m) 'oor widowed mother on the #arm% 3lease 6ean03aul tell me which o# these is more im'ortant to meA$ In the determinism model decisions li/e this #ollow what is /nown as the wei!hted desire model- In this model when it is not 'ossi le to com'romise a decision we assi!n di##erent wei!hts to each desire- &he more a desire wei!hs the stron!er our desire #or it- In this model we act to corres'ond to the desire with the lar!est wei!ht,owe(er as Sartre.s scenario shows we do not alwa)s /now which o# our desires carries the hea(ier wei!ht- Sartre ar!ues that the deterministic model rea/s down here ecause we cannot intros'ect and see which desire we (alue the most- I# the desires had a wei!ht e#ore we chose them then, he ar!ues, this would e a relati(el) sim'le tas/ rather than the a!onisin! one it so o#ten isIn Sartre.s o'inion it is onl) a#ter we ha(e made the choice that it is 'ossi le to wei!h u' the desires- It is onl) a#ter we had acted that we realise that the choice we made was the one we desired the most- ,is res'onse to the )oun! 1rench man is "Bou will onl) /now which desire is more im'ortant to )ou once )ou ha(e done it-$ 718 &his lac/ o# an a ilit) to intros'ect means that the causal relationshi' that is drawn etween the wei!ht o# a desire and actin! on the desire rea/s down- It cannot e said that we act ecause one desire outwei!hs the other- 5nl) that we understand the wei!hts o# our desires a#ter we ha(e acted on our decision-

Benjamin Corcoran

CID: 00641025

&his lea(es us with one alternati(e, that we as humans are 2thin!s0#or0themsel(es.- We are a solutel) #ree5ne o# the #amous 'hases to #all out o# determinism is Essence #recedes Existence &his is the conce't that an essence o# oursel(es e+ists e#ore we interact with a world- It im'lies that we, as humans, come into the world 'rede#ined- &hat !od, or !enetics, #amil) herita!e, social standin! etc- de#ines who we are- &his de#inition o# oursel(es #ollows us throu!h our li#e and descri es our 2nature., the wa) and onl) wa) we interact with the world- &a/en to its lo!ical conclusion it states that we our actions, thou!hts and #eelin! are the result o# our nature interactin! with the circumstances it #inds itsel# inSartre.s 'henomenolo!ical anal)sis o# determinism howe(er draws almost the e+act o''osite conclusion- &hat we #irst act and in the act we de#ine oursel(es- ,e ar!ues that the o jecti(e (iew o# our 2nature. ha''ens onl) in the limitin! !a>e o# the other- &he !a>e characterises us into an o ject ut this is onl) a#ter we act- We must act #irst- ,ence the 'hrase ecomes Existence #recedes Essence In Sartre.s own words Existence #recedes Essence $ man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world % and defines himself afterwards 718 With this Sartre elie(es he has de#eated the deterministic model- 1rom the ar!uments he 'uts #orward comes the understandin! our #reedom- Sartre sa)s we are condemned to e #ree- ,e e(o/es the ,eide!!erian idea o# 2throwness.- We are thrown into a world that alread) has meanin! and we must #ind a wa) to 'la) our 'art- Sartre doesn.t den) that #acticit) doesn.t ha(e an) earin! on our actions- ,owe(er the he ultimatel) sa)s #reedom o# choice on where to act on our #acticit) is alwa)s ours-

Bi lio!ra'h)
1- Jean-Paul, Satre. Existentialism and Humanism. s-l- : Ceridian 3u lishin! Com'an), 1D46- 0041=0 =1=00042- Heidegger, Martin. &eing and "ime. @ew Bor/ : ,ar'er E Fow, 1D62- 00606=G50G =- Thompson, Mel. Existentialism 'ade Easy. s-l- : ,odder *ducation- DHG144412=04= -

Benjamin Corcoran

CID: 00641025