SCSU PHI 408 01W
Professor Pettigrew

Selected passages from Sartre’s “L’existentialism est un humanisme.”

(NOTE: the term “ man” has been replaced throughout with “human being “ or “human beings” with whatever  grammatical revisions were necessary)

“existence precedes essence.” (13)

“…existence precedes essence…” means, “…human beings appear on the scene, and only afterwards, defines themselves.” (15)

“A human being are nothing else but what he or she makes of him or herself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity…” (15)

“…if existence precedes essence a human being  is responsible for what she or he is.”

“Thus, existentialism’s first move is to make every human being aware of what he or she is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him or her . …he or she  is also responsible for all men.” (16)

“I am responsible for myself and for everyone else. …In choosing myself I choose human beings.” (18)

“If existence really does precede essence, there is no explaining away things by reference to a fixed an given human nature. …there is no determinism, a human being free, a human beiing is freedom.” (22-23)

“…human beings are condemned to be free. …once thrown into the world, each human being is responsible for everything he or she does…” (23)

“There is no reality except in action.” (32)

“…he or she exists only to the extent that he or she  fulfills him or herself; he or she is nothing else than the ensemble of his or her actions, nothing else than his or her life.” (32)

“…this theory is the only one which gives the human being dignity, the only one which does not reduce the human being to an object.” (37)

“…discovering my inner being I discover the other person at the same time, like a freedom placed in front of me…”(38)

“In this sense there is a “universality of human being; but it is not given, it is perpetually being made. I build the universe in choosing myself; I build it in understanding the configuration of every other human being…” (39)

“But there is another meaning of humanism. … a human is constantly outside of him or herself; in projecting him or herself, in losing him or her self outside of him or herself, he or she makes for the human being’s existing…” (50)

“We call existentialism humanism, “because we remind the human being that there is no law-maker other than her or himself… she or he will decide by  her or himself…will fulfill her or himself as human…”(51)