Sartre s Views On The Moral Choices - 895 Words

Jean-Paul Sartre is a French philosopher who makes his claims based on a combination of two philosophical traditions – existentialism and phenomenology. Sartre himself is an atheistic existentialist. He summarizes his claims regarding existentialism with three words – anguish, abandonment, and despair (25). In this paper, I will talk about Sartre’s definition of existentialism, its relation to essence, Sartre’s views on the moral choices and how they relate to art. Sartre makes the claim that all humans start at the same place. He says we are all thrown into the world without any preset values/moral attitudes. We come into this world as a clean slate (tabula rasa) (22). Although we did not come into this world by choice, the one thing we do come with is the freedom to decide who we want to be and how we want to live our lives. In this sense, even prisoners are free. Being physically captured doesn’t mean being physically captured. You are free to determine what your physical imprisonment means when you have the freedom to decide what any circumstance means. Sartre emphasizes the mantra of existentialism. His slogan is â€Å"existence precedes essence†. Essence is what makes something what it is. According to Descartes, our essence is our rational mind – it makes us who we are. Sartre argues humans aren’t born with an essence—they don’t start with one. Humans start by simply existing. At the beginning, there is no internal essence or human nature. Our essence is later defined byShow MoreRelatedThe Artist : An Artist1444 Words   |  6 Pagesmay not have a vivid account, or clear picture for the final result but the art emerges as the artist conducts his piece leaving the artist with pure, utter creative freedom.When hearing this metaphor its hard not to see the direct correlation to moral choice being relatable to the construction and formulation of art work. â€Å"I mention the work of art only by way of comparison.That being understood, does anyone reproach an artist, when he paints a picture, for n ot following rules established? does oneRead MoreEthical Ethics And Ethical Behavior1117 Words   |  5 Pagespeople think constitutes ethical can be vary depending on culture we grow up with and the environment we grow up in. I don t believe that we are able to know whether our actions are moral. There have been incredible changes in the previous decade, however a significant number of these have prompted contrasting moral assessments. 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