Existentialism and Human Emotion (A Philosophical Library Book)

In this provocative philosophical analysis, Jean-Paul Sartre refutes the idea that existentialism drains meaning from human life, by claiming that the philosophy instead gives man total freedom to achieve his own significance

Sartre’s Existentialism and Human Emotions is a stirring defense of existentialist thought, which argues that “existence precedes essence.” While attacks on existentialism claim that the philosophy leads to a kind of nihilistic gloom, Sartre contends that instead existentialism is the only path toward giving man meaning. Sartre ultimately argues that by the very absence of “a priori meaning,” an individual can discover and shape his or her own significance and place in the world.

 

Sartre turns the typical nihilistic definition of existentialism on its head in this optimistic take on his best-known theory.

 

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was a significant voice in the creation of existential thought. His explorations of the ways human existence is unique among all life-forms in its capacity to choose continue to influence fields such as Marxist philosophy, sociology, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, but refused the honor.