Sartre explains in his essay that there have been many charges against existentialism. For example, he mentions that existentialism has been charged with the problem of welcoming individuals to remain in, what Sartre describes, as a desperate quietism (9). As Sartre mentions, existentialism has come under fire from multiple groups. The previously mentioned charge comes from the communists, but other groups, such as the Christians, lay charges against existentialism as well. What seems to be one of the main goals of Sartre with this essay is to address these charges against existentialism. The basic charge, as he puts it is that existentialism has a focus on the dark side of human life (10). However, what Sartre wants to get across is that the …show more content…
He gives the example of a man who might be considered a coward or weak. While one might attribute their cowardice to external conditions, Sartre states that an existentialist would rather say their cowardice is their own doing. He states, “man’s destiny is within himself…the only hope is in his acting and that action is the only thing that enables a man to live” (36). It is from statements such as these that the charge arises that existentialism immures man in his private subjectivity. Sartre’s answer to this is that it is strictly for philosophic reasons. In other words, individuals of existentialism want a doctrine that rooted within “truth, not theories; full of hope, but not with basis” (36). In addition to this, what Sartre seems to be leaning towards is that man needs others man. He brings up the I think philosophies of Kant and Descartes to help establish this reasoning. Essentially, what can be pulled from this is that in order to reach our own self we must grasp it through other beings. For example, in order to be anything, Sartre says that we must be recognized as such (37). In other words, this can be seen through the activity of labeling an individual. An individual can be considered smart, or even malicious, but what makes these labels stick is the fact that others recognize them as such.