A Rhetorical Analysis Of Paul Sartre's Existentialism

957 Words2 Pages

According to the existentialist, man is not only responsible for his own actions and individuality but he is also responsible for all men. In Paul Sartre’s essay “Existentialism,” Sartre uses both the Toulmin argument and the Rogerian Argument to defend and support his beliefs about Existentialism. Sartre argues that “if existence really does precede essence”(1229), people are responsible for their own actions and who they are as an individual. There is no greater urges outside of oneself because humans are simply here and they alone can define themselves. Sartre persuades his audience to agree with his arguments through the use of ethical appeals and anecdotes to support his claims while at the same time establishing common ground with Christians …show more content…

The student needed to decide if he would stay in France with his mother who depended on him or join the the Free French forces and fight to his country. Sartre uses the Toulmin method to convince the reader that the idea of existentialism is superior to Christian doctrines and Kantian ethics. He explains that even though Christians would advise his student to choose love and charity, this does little to help since the student still has to decide if he should show more love to his mother or his country. Kantian ethics teaches its followers to “never treat any persons as a means, but as an end”(Sartre 1234). Sartre argues that if the student stays with his mother, he will be treating her as an end. However, the student still risks treating those who are fighting in …show more content…

Contrary to popular belief, existentialism does not focus on trying to argue whether God exists or not. Sartre makes some allusions to religion to make a connection with Christian readers. He shares another anecdote about a young Jesuit man who felt like he messed everything up on his life. “He very wisely looked upon all this as a sign that he was not made for secular triumphs”(Sartre 1235). Sartre understands that the man believed that God had a hand in all the hardships in his life. However, Sartre argues that it is obvious that the young Jesuit man was the only one who decided what that sign meant. He alone interpreted his hardships as a sign from

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Cordwainer Smith's Alpha Ralpha Street

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term existentialist, according to Sartre, means existence precedes essence. This means that an individual first exists, and then they exercise free will over themselves to do things that define themselves, thus their essence. For this ideology to work for Sartre, an atheistic stance needs to be taken. This is so because of how he defines God. God is compared to an artisan producing a knife, through a definition and a formula. Thus, “when God creates he knows precisely what he is creating.” Under this identification of God, that Sartre dictates is a common implication in philosophical writings, God creates with intent and seemingly, purpose. Hence, God

    Read More

  • Existentialism In 13 Going On Thirty By Jean-Paul Sartre

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sartre describes anguish as what someone experiences when they realize the profound and full responsibility of their choices to themselves and humanity (25). Sartre explains anguish by describing the responsibility a military officer faces. A military leader gets a vage order from a higher up that he must use his own knowledge of his troops and location to choose how to go about fulfilling the order (27). This situation depicts the anguish described by existentialism because the military officer has to realize his decision will directly affect his troops, himself and the greater effort of the army. Additionally, free will results in the feeling of abandonment. Sartre describes abandonment as the understanding that we are alone and “cannot find anything to rely on”(29). This means there is no one that can validate a person’s actions and they must take full responsibility for what they do. Sartre describes abandonment through the dilemma one of his students faced. His student came to him for advice because he had to choose between staying home and taking care of his heartbroken mother or leaving to fight evil and avenge his brothers death (30). Sartre told him that he and he alone could make the choice (33). If if he tried to avoid deciding by seeking the advice of someone else, he would still be making a decision. Who he would chose to consult would depend on the advice he wants to receive; if he chose to go to go someone whos supported the war effort, he would be making the choice he wants to go and fight and vice a versa (33). Sartre wants to illustrate that even if you think you are choosing not to chose or deciding based on someone else, you are still making a decision and are still responsible for that action. Finally, Sartre believes that our freedom results in despair. Sartre describes despair as the idea that “we must limit ourselves

    Read More

  • Sartre And Beauvoir Existentialism Analysis

    1885 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many Christians rejected the philosophy of existentialism on the grounds that it denies “the reality and seriousness of human affairs” and that man will “be incapable… of condemning either the point of view or the action of anyone else.” (Sartre 1). Sartre denies this claim later in Existentialism is a Humanism by rejecting the misconception that an existentialist holds no conviction. Rather, he states, existentialists have the most conviction of anyone, because in “choosing for himself he chooses for all men.” (Sartre 4) Sartre claims this to be the “deeper meaning of existentialism.” It is the subjectivity of what is good or evil, the essence that man decides for himself, that has an impact on everyone else; within this subjectivity lies the responsibility for bettering mankind, a responsibility few men would choose to ignore.

    Read More

  • Sartre: Authentic Existence in Living in Bad Faith

    311 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jean Paul Sartre's philosophy is one of the most popular systems of thought in the school called existentialism. Sartre valued human freedom and choice, and held it in the highest regard. To be able to live an authentic existence, one must take responsibility for all the actions that he freely chooses. This total freedom that man faces often throws him into a state of existential anguish, wherein he is burdened by the hardship of having to choose all the time. Thus, there ensues the temptation for man to live a life of inauthenticity, by leaning on preset rules or guidelines, and objective norms. This would consist the idea of bad faith.

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit and Existentialis

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    the play may be pass to modern society, that one may not learn, or even

    Read More

  • Existentialism In No Exit

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was in the 19th centuries where a French writer Jean-Paul Sartre who popularized the concept of existentialism during his play No Exit. The play was published in 1943. Sartre explained Existentialism, which states in the belief that life has no meaning. Reynolds stated that, “People should be responsible for themselves rather than make excuses for the occurrences in their life, the belief that humans have free will” ( ). Each is separate from all other individuals, so each person has the power to place himself in the position he wishes, that every individual is responsible for his actions.

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre and Radical Freedom

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jean-Paul Sartre claims that there can be no human nature, or essence, without a God to conceive of it. This claim leads Sartre to formulate the idea of radical freedom, which is the idea that man exists before he can be defined by any concept and is afterwards solely defined by his choices. Sartre presupposes this radical freedom as a fact but fails to address what is necessary to possess the type of freedom which would allow man to define himself. If it can be established that this freedom and the ability to make choices is contingent upon something else, then freedom cannot be the starting point from which man defines himself. This leaves open the possibility of an essence that is not necessarily dependent upon a God to conceive it. Several inconsistencies in Sartre’s philosophy undermine the plausibility of his concept of human nature. The type of freedom essential for the ability to define oneself is in fact contingent upon something else. It is contingent upon community, and the capacity for empathy, autonomy, rationality, and responsibility.

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre: The Third Force Movement

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) is referred to as the most popular existentialist of the twentieth century and was born out of the third force movement in psychology. The third force movement of the twentieth century consisted of a diverse collection of psychologists and philosophers that did not all share universal principles, but were all reacting to the new orientation of psychology, which differed from behaviorism in that it did not reduce psychological processes to reactions to mechanical laws of physiological events but acknowledged the mediating and active role of the mind (Brennan, 2003). Despite the diversity of the third force movement, there were commonly shared views amongst its pioneers. One of these views was the focus on personal freedom and responsibility in terms of decision making and fulfilling ones potential (Brennan, 2003). The mind was considered to be active, and dynamic and a place where an individual could express their uniquely human abilities of cognition, willing, and judgments (Brennan, 2003). There was an emphasis on the self, and an acknowledgement of the strive of humans toward individually defined personality development. Existentialism holds that an individual is free to define his or her life course through his or her choices and decisions, but individuals are responsible for the consequences of their personal choices and decisions, and therefore freedom is a burdensome source of anguish (Brennan, 2003).

    Read More

  • Existentialism

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are two kinds of existentialist; first those who are Christian, and on the other hand the atheistic existentialists. Many unfamiliar with the subject people associate existentialism with atheism, but they are wrong. The truth is that the majority of existentialists are not atheists. Sartre, which we place among atheists, stress that central concern of philosophy is human existence. He says that human being is a special kind of consciousness (being-for- itself). Everything else is matter (being-in-itself). He believes that human being has no God-given essence and is absolutely free and absolutely responsible. According to him, anguish is the result of the absolute freedom and responsibility. He also says that human existence is absurd and unjustified. Therefore, the goal of human being is to justify his/her existence.(2)      Sartre believes that there are those in our history who have established a religion to reassure nothing more than what he calls a "fundamental project." That means that when we become anguished by the affairs of life we pursue a fundamental project in attempt to flee this anguish. He says that we try to make ourselves Gods in hopes that others would see us divine, and hold us in higher regard. To pursue a fundame...

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre’s Philosophy: Radical Freedom and Responsibility

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will. To Sartre, saying that som...

    Read More

  • John Paul Sartre

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Paul Sartre is known as one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. He wrote many philosophical works novels and plays. Much of his work is tied into politics. The essay Existentialism is a Humanism is just one of his many works. Existentialism is a Humanism is a political essay that was written in 1945. Its purpose was to address a small public during World War II in Nazi occupied France. This essay stressed the public not to conform. Sartre introduced a great number of philosophical concepts in Existentialism. Two of these concepts are anguish and forlornness. They are simply defined, as anguish is feeling responsible for yourself as well as others and knowing that your actions affect others and forlornness is realizing that you are alone in your decisions. These two concepts are interwoven throughout the essay and throughout many of Sartre's other works. Sartre's view of anguish and forlornness in Existentialism is a Humanism addresses his view of life and man.

    Read More

  • Existentialism By Jean-Paul Sartre: The Common Man's Meaning

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Man goes through life, waking each day and participating in his own existence without truly existing. He is always in search of a greater meaning, and in the process fails to find one as he is on a constant search for something that cannot be grasped by the normality that is the human psyche. A similar example can be found in the capitalistic work force of modern day. Man works the majority of his life, always training and aiming for more, only to retire and live on a portion of what he was making. During his time working he lost out on his family, his sleep, often times his own enjoyment, for an ideal that often times is never achieved. This is a trivial situation, yet it is painted in a rather angelic light in our society. Why is it, then, that Sartre can be dismissed as trivial when trivialities exist in nearly every day to day life? Quite likely, this is because Existentialism is an “on-paper theory” so to speak, and in theory is looks quite differently than in reality. Man, as in this case, does not realise that he often follows the rules which he opposes. In addition, much of today’s society exists under a form of organized religion, a society with which Existentialism exists in

    Read More

  • Freedom to Choose in Waiting for Godot, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Iraq

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing

    Read More

  • Human and Human Nature: Aristotle and Sartre

    2166 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...on their situation, and that for me seemed unfair. So for Sartre to show that humans can create their own lives, versus having it prearranged for them on some deeper level, seems much more appealing.

    Read More

  • Sartre’s Existentialism in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing

    Read More

More about A Rhetorical Analysis Of Paul Sartre's Existentialism

Open Document