Sartre what makes us who we are

He wanted us to acknowledge our freedom, to not be restricted by the popular definition of reality, and live life as we wished to live it.

And despite people uncovering several flaws in the way he presented his ideals, his ideals themselves are certainly worth considering. Being is in-itself. Being is what it is. Stay Updated. Welcome Onboard! We tell your stories. Stories that inspire change. Login with Google. Login with Facebook. By signing up for yourstory you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of the platform.

Trending Now Trending Stories. Read the full story. Latest Updates from around the world. This never-ending anguish seems to imply an absurdity in human existence. However, a life without anguish actually would be meaningless. After all, if you have a higher power to appeal to and you never have to struggle with decisions, what would be the point of living? While Sartre sees the freedom of choice as a condemnation and further evidence that life is meaningless, it is actually the sole source of meaning in human existence.

We have nothing to appeal to but our own subjective intuition when making decisions, so we have the authority to give those decisions meaning. The anguish we feel about our decisions is a burden, but it does not destroy meaning. Instead, it helps define the human struggle as just that, a struggle. By having the ability to live an existence that is difficult and requires us to make decisions without any guidance from a higher authority, we can give our struggles purpose.

One could argue that, without a higher power who creates a universal code of morals to aid people in making decisions, human existence would be completely chaotic and devoid of meaning. However, it is the sense of responsibility for Mankind that helps solve this dilemma.

Since individuals make decisions that are representative of their ideal image of Man, they are making decisions on behalf of all Mankind. As a result, they are responsible for making decisions that are best for themselves and humanity as a whole. Although an individual will always lack confidence in their decisions, they will still make decisions that are best for all, because they will make decisions that are best for themselves.

For example, if a person chooses to volunteer at a homeless shelter, that person is making a decision that they believe the ideal person would make. Essentially, just by living our lives and making decisions, we are projecting individual concepts of what Man should be. Later on he explains that because man is free they are forlorn.

Just by that quote he seems to say that we are forlorn because we choose who we are. Since …show more content… One reason I agree is because without no god life does not have that deeper meaning that most humans search for.

Without that deeper meaning there is a void in a person. Since there is a void in someone that leads them to unhappiness until they can find that deeper meaning they have been searching for.

If someone cannot find deeper meaning from religion or a god then their life has no purpose. To some people that would be depressing, because then what do they shoot for in life? Some people would just sit there and not try, and others can go out and live it. For what would they be living for though? If there is no god and no afterlife a life of excitement is pointless, because then there is nothing after that fun.

This makes it all pointless if someone went out and live it would be meaningless. Where is the meaning in life without something after life? Especially for those who do not leave an imprint in lives there life is completely meaningless, because even if they live their whole life living it with excitement when they will not be remembered or have mattered.

If something does not matter that makes it meaningless therefore if someone does nothing that makes an impact they are meaningless. This makes their life meaningless because everything in their life serves no purpose.

Even if they were good and did everything right while having fun. Without an afterlife or god that makes life meaningless. Even with the freedom that we have life without believing in a god is forlorn, because freedom is not happiness. Freedom is for us to be ourselves no matter what anyone or anything says.

Even with that freedom of allowing us to be us. It still does not make anything better. We has humans are forlorn because we are who we are. Our choices and beliefs are what make us who we are. Therefore we are forlorn as. Get Access. Better Essays. Read More. Satisfactory Essays. The Meaning of Life Words 1 Pages.