Existentialism and the Role of Jean Paul Sartre

Existentialism is a movement in literature that tries to describe the intent of the writers to make decisions which are rational despite being present in a universe which is irrational. The forerunners in the concepts of Existentialism were Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky and Nietzsche. Existentialism sprang from the radical ideas of these two individuals. It was Jean Paul Sartre who declared Existentialism and he was influenced by Marxist ideologies. His interests were more inclined towards politics than on philosophical theories. Camus and Samuel Beckett diverted themselves to the Theatre of the Absurd. They felt that Existentialism was more methodological than being philosophical. Albert Camus called Existentialism a `philosophical suicide’ when pondering on the subject of life: “I call the existential attitude philosophical suicide. How else to start from the world’s lack of meaning and end up by finding a meaning and a depth to it?” - Albert Camus as paraphrased; Introducing Existentialism; Appignanesi, p. 36. What is Existentialism? It is an intellectual movement that found its expression in literature, philosophy, politics and religion just after the Second World War. It is a response to times of anxiety; a period in which collectivism and war weakened the conventional beliefs of people in progress and made them doubt the general theories of truth and goodness. This movement was an attempt to find new platforms of truth and values for people - "a lonely anguished being in an ambiguous world." The most popular and influential exponent of existentialism is Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), a French philosopher, novelist, playwright, and political activist. Sartre and Existentialism Sartre’s approach was with a secular orientation. He took an atheist stand and rejected the belief in God or the supernatural power. The concepts stayed centred on the human situation. He rejected the abstract and the rationalistic views of the world that defined the human essence. He spent much time in the deduction of the purpose and values of human existence. He felt that existence was more important than essence. He said that the human conditions, a collection of actions and experience, defined human nature. We are what we make of ourselves. Humans, on an individual basis, are the creators of all values and whatever meaning it gives to life. Humans have to act and then exercise their choice. Individuals can be totally free by acting alone in the face of the forces of evil, death and despair. For Sartre, freedom was the greatest good. It was not a negative release. Sartre proposed a courageous and irrational affirmation of responsible truth against meaninglessness and death. He fought during the Second World War with the French resistance and was even taken prisoner by the Germans. When he was released, he wrote, `Being and Nothingness’ in 1943. This was his major philosophical work. He expounded the Existentialist concepts in several plays. The best known play is `No Exit’ of 1945. In 1964, he declined to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature for the political implications of that award. He always remained a critical supporter of the communist causes post Second World War. In 1945, he also founded the literary and the political Quarterly known as `les Temps Modernes’ (The Modern Times). In this Quarterly, he continuously derided those writers who believed in pure literary art and his primary attack was on Marcel Proust whom he called an accomplice of bourgeois propaganda’. He dismissed Gustave Flaubert as a `talented coupon clipper’. He did not like their art for art’s sake theories. He argued in favour of literature `for engagement’. His thoughts ruffled many a feather in the French literary scene. He was not well known with the English speaking audiences.