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Freedom That Causes Anxiety by Rodzeń Laura
Freedom That Causes Anxiety by Rodzeń Laura
Causes Anxiety
A look at Sartre and his Existentialism
1
Reynolds, Jack, and Pierre-Jean Renaudie. “Jean-Paul Sartre.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford
University, 26 Mar. 2022, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/.
2
Österling, Anders. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 1964.” NobelPrize.org,
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1964/press-release/.
3
Serwisy Grupy PWN, PWN. “Sartre Jean-Paul.” Sartre Jean-Paul, Encyklopedia Pwn: Źródło Wiarygodnej I Rzetelnej
Wiedzy, https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/Sartre-Jean-Paul;3972496.html.
4
English Dictionary, Cambridge University Press. “Existentialism.” Cambridge Dictionary,
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/existentialism.
did not have any specific meaning to which man would be called by nature. Man is distinguished
by his freedom. This freedom is in his nature, and everything a person does and what decisions
he makes, it all makes him give sense to the world in which he lives. God is fiction; he does not
exist. Man, in his philosophy, is very limited; his existence begins and ends with being in the
world. Moreover, the whole meaning of man is given by himself 5. The first important thread of
existential considerations appears in Heidegger's philosophy and concerns the fundamental
phenomenon of human existence, death. Importantly, so far, it has been metaphysics and,
according to Heidegger, it was based on oppositions derived from Plato, such as reality -
appearance, truth - falsehood, primary - derivative, homogeneous - differentiated, objective -
subjective, etc. 6
Sartre's basic question was "What does it mean to be a being?" 7. His answer is direct
already in the very order of ‘Being and Nothingness’. One of the most famous foundational
moments of existentialism concerns Sartre's discovery of phenomenology while listening to his
friend Raymond Aron's description of an apricot cocktail in a Paris bar. From that moment on,
Sartre was fascinated by the originality and novelty of Husserl's method, which he immediately
identified to meet his philosophical expectations: overcoming the opposition between idealism
and realism, gaining a view of the world that would allow him to "describe objects as he saw and
touched them, and extract philosophy from the process." 8 While studying in Berlin, Sartre
attempted to turn his study of Husserl into a paper documenting his enthusiastic discovery of
intentionality. This prompted him to publish an article a few years later. Intentionally omitting
5
Bajer, Dorota. “EGZYSTENCJALIZM JAKO FILOZOFIA PODMIOTU1.” Repozytorium Uniwersytetu W
Białymstoku: Strona Główna, https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/.
6
Bednarz, R. “Egzystencjalizm (Wprowadzenie).” Egzystencjalizm (Wprowadzenie) - Serwis Humanistyczny Hamlet,
http://hamlet.edu.pl/egzystencjalizm-wprowadzenie.
7
Lewicki, Mikołaj. “O Jeana Paula Sartre'a Projekcie Człowieka W Sytuacji.” Zeszyty Naukowe Towarzystwa
Doktorantów UJ, https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/25214/lewicki_o_jeana_paula_sartre
%27a_projekcie_cz%C5%82owieka.pdf?sequence=1.
8
Reynolds, Jack, and Pierre-Jean Renaudie. “Jean-Paul Sartre.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 26
Mar. 2022, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/.
the idealistic aspects of Husserl's transcendental phenomenology, Sartre proposed a
radicalization of intentionality that emphasizes its anti-idealistic potential. 9
Sartre's views aroused great controversy and were the subject of much debate. Although
his views are rather negatively associated by France, the extraordinary popularity of Jean Paul
Sartre's existentialism is of great importance for the history of philosophy. He perceives a person
extremely individually. Since man oversees their destiny, it is up to him and only him to shape
his humanity10. In his lecture, Sartre explicitly addressed this question, describing existentialism
as “the least scandalous and the most austere” 11 of teachings and only intended for technicians
and philosophers. He stated that the common denominator of the so-called existentialists was
their belief that for human beings, ‘existence comes before essence’. What he meant by this was
that in contrast to a designed object such as a penknife – the blueprint and purpose of which pre-
exist the actual physical thing – human beings have no pre-established purpose or nature, nor
anything we must or ought to be12. All this contributes to stimulating human activity, action,
shaping, and giving meaning and value to one's life. It means that man counts as an individual
alone. Other people are strangers to him, and even more, they are enemies to man. Sartre says:
"Hell is other people"13. Any man who strives for happiness will come into conflict with another
man anyway. The reason for this is that no one can notice and accept other people's needs with
understanding. Each person individually builds own values, for which one is individually
responsible. For the suffering of the individual, the people around him cannot be blamed. This is
the most important consequence of the individual decisions, actions, and choices we constantly
9
Reynolds, Jack, and Pierre-Jean Renaudie. “Jean-Paul Sartre.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 26
Mar. 2022, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/.
10
Warburdon, Nigel. “A Student's Guide to Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Humanism.” Philosophy Now: a Magazine of
Ideas, https://philosophynow.org/issues/15/A_students_guide_to_Jean-Paul_Sartres_Existentialism_and_Humanism.
11
Carroll, Charles Durning. “Jean Paul Sartre.” A Philosophy Reader, Columbia West, 30 Aug. 2019,
https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/philosophyreader102/chapter/jean-paul-sartre/.
12
Warburdon, Nigel. “A Student's Guide to Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Humanism.” Philosophy Now: a
Magazine of Ideas, https://philosophynow.org/issues/15/A_students_guide_to_Jean-
Paul_Sartres_Existentialism_and_Humanism.
13
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Dramaty: Muchy, Przy Drzwiach Zamkniętych, Ladacznica Z Zasadami, Niekrasow. Państwowy
Instytut Wydawniczy, 1956.
face. Man is an individual who is doomed to live alone, but paradoxically, during various types
of rebellions, he shows solidarity with other people.14
Existentialism is a philosophical direction that fills a person with anxiety, fear, and
negative emotions. Because of his cruel ruthlessness, man cannot commit suicide to end this
suffering. Even more, existentialism encourages people to make an effort, often heroic, because
it is the only meaning of human life and existence in this world, while making people anxious for
their choices. This philosophical current did not find support in the church or in deterministic
currents, due to its shallowness. The lack of higher goals, and Sartre's uninterrupted claim
already mentioned that people shape their own characteristics, characters simply contradicted
their basic assumption15.
Sartre belongs to the controversial, but also groundbreaking philosophers for the idea of
existentialism of the last century. His beliefs defied the hitherto believed religious-psychological
laws, through their lack of hope and at the same time encouragement to act independently despite
difficulties without an alternative. Due to his unusual view of freedom, as well as interpersonal
relationships, many of his views may cause anxiety caused by basing his security on others -
according to the philosopher's beliefs, this is not right.
14
Joanna Roś. “Filozofia a Dramat, Na Przykładzie Twórczości Jean Paul Sartre’a.” BazHum, https://bazhum.pl/.
15
Pham, Jonathan. “Western Existentialism and Its Relation to Christianity.” Literature and Digital Diversity, 10 Apr.
2021, https://litdigitaldiversity.northeastern.edu/western-existentialism-and-its-relation-to-christianity/.
Bibliography
Bajer, Dorota. “EGZYSTENCJALIZM JAKO FILOZOFIA PODMIOTU1.” Repozytorium
Uniwersytetu W Białymstoku: Strona Główna, https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/.
Carroll, Charles Durning. “Jean Paul Sartre.” A Philosophy Reader, Columbia West, 30 Aug.
2019, https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/philosophyreader102/chapter/jean-paul-sartre/.
Joanna Roś. “Filozofia a Dramat, Na Przykładzie Twórczości Jean Paul Sartre’a.” BazHum,
https://bazhum.pl/.
Lewicki, Mikołaj. “O Jeana Paula Sartre'a Projekcie Człowieka W Sytuacji.” Zeszyty Naukowe
Towarzystwa Doktorantów UJ,
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/25214/lewicki_o_jeana_paula_sartre
%27a_projekcie_cz%C5%82owieka.pdf?sequence=1.
Pham, Jonathan. “Western Existentialism and Its Relation to Christianity.” Literature and
Digital Diversity, 10 Apr. 2021, https://litdigitaldiversity.northeastern.edu/western-
existentialism-and-its-relation-to-christianity/.