To_His_Coy_Mistress

To His Coy Mistress On Freedom and Responsibility Jean-Paul Sartre is widely regarded as the most influential existential philosopher. His many works of literature have provided existentialism with a firm basis and have propelled him to the forefront of western philosophy. A recurring theme of Sartre’s is the reconciliation of freedom and responsibility. Because existentialism is somewhat controversial, many question its credibility as a philosophy. In order to investigate the credibility of Sartre’s thought, I proceed to analyze existentialism by applying this theme to other maxims within the philosophy and thereby examining the strengths and weaknesses of existential thought. Freedom Sartre writes, “Man is free, man is freedom” (1957, 23.) This is a rather cryptic definition that can be taken to mean that man is inherently free. Freedom in this sense is a right, rather than a privilege, and this ideology can be compared to the writings of John Locke during the period prior to the American Revolution. Freedom allows man the capacity to create his own essence. Therefore, “because he did not create himself,” mankind is “condemned to be free” (Sartre, Les Editions Nagel, 34.) By condemned, the philosopher is referring to the idea that man man, freedom, sartre, mankind, responsibility, himself, therefore, free, philosophy, existentialism, essence, because, 1957, own, make, world, thought, responsible, existence, sartre’s, rather, itself, individual, idea, existential, being, view, others, one, must, instead, human, existentialist, create, condemned