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Are We Completely Free?

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Jean-Paul Sartre claims that man is completely free. To understand what this statement means, this essay will look at Existentialist philosophy and evaluate the central concepts namely freedom, anguish, abandonment and despair. Through analysing Sartre’s lecture entitled ‘Existentialism and Humanism’ and his book, ‘Being and Nothingness’ this essay will explain what he meant by this statement and will argue that while man is free to a certain extent, he is not completely free.
Sartre delivered his lecture in a time of guarded optimism and unrest. The truth about the Nazi power and Auschwitz had just become known and the first atomic bomb had been dropped. People were becoming aware of how evil others could be and were looking for answers. There was a need to re-examine life as they knew it and Sartre, through Existentialism, offered a new approach to life. While Sartre himself later repudiated parts of his lecture it still remains his most widely read writing. (Philosophynow.org, 2016) Sartre used the word, ‘freedom’ which would have appealed to the people of that epoch having just been freed from Nazi occupation, however he says man is condemned to be free as he believed freedom came with great responsibility.
The main reason for Sartre’s lecture was to defend Existentialism against its critics who thought it would lead to ‘quietism of despair’. They thought it was contemplative and would discourage people from taking action. Due to the words he used, namely anguish, abandonment and despair, many people felt this philosophy was dark and depressing; however, Sartre used these words as technical terms which have very different meanings. Taken in every day context they mean suffering and helplessness. Sartre recognises the negative connotations but they also possess a positive and optimistic aspect which can be empowering. Sartre described Existentialism as the

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