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Sartre Western Modernity Analysis

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In this essay I will discuss Sartre’s critical engagement with Western Modernity and its problematic practices of colonialism. In short one of Sartre’s critique on Western Modernity is saying that the Europeans are making themselves into monsters, humanism asserts that they are one whole with all of humanity, but their racist methods set them apart. He also states that they are wasting their time with un-personal litanies, this Europe where all they talk about is Man but then kill men left right and centre, all around the world. For so long centuries they have muted more than half of humanity- for what they called “spiritual experience”. This spiritual enlightenment that Sartre talks about is basically contra European Enlightenment, Modernity and Humanism. He also says that Europe is living at a thoughtless pace, and is heading head first into the chasm, and that they should actually stay away from it. Basically, there is no hope …show more content…

There is a distinction between “us” he says, they their humanity outside demise and torment, “we” find it on this side of misery and demise. He says that the Europeans become men at the cost of the colonised, and that they make themselves men at the cost of the Europeans. This can be seen as a type of fresh non-western humanism that does not cave under the pressure of the two-facedness of Western Humanism (Sartre, 1948). Sartre says that the people in Europe are being decolonized and what he means is that the settler that is in all of us, is being viciously dug out. Sartre says we have to look at ourselves, we must first realise that our humanism was a flawless explanation for spoils, just a philosophy of lies, the flattering words used and it’s fake sensibility were only excuses for our aggression (Sartre,

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