ipl-logo

Comparing Existentialism In Jean-Paul Sartre And Albert Camus

931 Words4 Pages

Existentialism became a well-known philosophical movement by the works of two French writers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Soren Kierkegaard is universally considered to be the first existentialist philosopher but the movement became prominent due to the efforts of two French writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), a French existential philosopher, a prominent novelist and playwright is considered to be the father of Existentialist philosophy. His trilogy No Exit, Nausea, and the Roads to Freedom contribute greatly to the philosophy of existentialism. The central theme of existentialism is freedom of the individual. It emphasizes that Man is ultimately responsible for his own actions. Sartre’s notions …show more content…

Baker observes that Albert Camus dealt with the theme of absurdity in his works because of which he is an existential writer. Albert Camus, a prominent French novelist and philosopher who vehemently and explicitly denied existential thoughts and one who was completely opposed to existentialism is classified as a prominent existentialist. As all his renowned works, The Stranger, The Plague, and The Rebel deal with existential issues. Camus was preoccupied with issues such as meaningless of life, absurdity, irrationality, etc. He believed that in …show more content…

Meursault, the protagonist’s alienation and detachment, his feelings of complete unconcern about the trial and sentence, his determination to be true to his feelings reflect the existential credo of Camus. Meursault is an existential character he leads life in a meaninglessness manner. He falls in love with Maria but frankly admits to her that love is a vague emotion, it has no meaning for him. His character is like that of Sindi Oberio, who was very much in love with June but refused to marry her as he was afraid of attachment. However, Meusault is completely obsessed with his own theory of absurdity of existence. He shows neither sorrow for the death of his mother nor any sense of repentance for murdering an Arab. He does not show any emotion, neither sorrow nor regret when convicted to death. Camus was concerned with portrayal of absurdity of existence. His work ‘The Rebel’ is about historical rebellion, revolt against slavery and suppression but Camus philosophy of absurdity is also prominently present throughout the book, he believes that there is no God or guiding principal it is difficult to find the true meaning of life or existence. Similarly in his ‘The Fall’ Clamence is guilty and evil. Camus tells his view

Show More
Related
932 Words | 4 Pages

What if life contributed to no meaning and the only point which matters is the existence happening during the present? To make things worse, as humans live, they breath, but as they die a salvation is received to their soul, and their existence is over. The Stranger by Albert Camus illustrates that the human soul exists in the world physically, therefore the presence or absence does not contribute to any particular event in life. Through, this thought the novel introduces Meursault, who alienates himself from society. He lacks concern for social conventions and is deprived of the physical bounding from people around him.

Read More
1211 Words | 5 Pages

But without responsibility, both for ourselves and the rest of society, freedom is meaningless and doesn’t contribute to the existentialist doctrine On freedom Sartre writes, “Man is condemned to be free, and from the moment that he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does” (Sartre 350). This theme is illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel. After Cain’s clear dismay over God’s favorable response towards Abel, God tells him, “Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). Sin is a universal concept and it lurks underneath everyone’s door. In the first part of the passage God indirectly speaks to Cain, generalizing his message.

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

That is, they have consciousness and goals. Sartre cannot even begin to explain this “upsurge,” since it is absurd, not being grounded in a Creator and Designer. An existentialist is a humanist, says Sartre, in the sense that he does not judge man but sees him as

Read More
936 Words | 4 Pages

Existentialism is a philosophy that really focuses on free will of an individual and the meaning of life. There have been many existentialists to write pieces demonstrating this philosophy. Tom Stoppard wrote an existentialist play called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This play builds off of characters from the famous Shakespeare play, Hamlet. Stoppard's play is existentialist because it demonstrates its characters having free will, no real certainty

Read More
1211 Words | 5 Pages

In ‘No exit’, Jean-Paul Sartre constructs a version of hell where three characters, Garcin, Estelle, and Inez are trapped together in a room for all of eternity with nothing except each other’s company. The characters and the complex relationships they build in ‘No Exit’ are representative of Sartre’s existentialist philosophy. Each of the three characters in ‘No Exit’ represent their success and failure through an existentialist viewpoint. Inez, the self proclaimed sadist, was a postal worker in her life and was murdered after she seduced and turned her cousin’s wife against him.

Read More
1744 Words | 7 Pages

In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and the current college process that I am engulfed in, existentialism proves itself to be true. Existentialism is intimidating until an overarching lesson is learned through the choices and responsibilities, passions (or lack thereof), and the isolation of a person, such as Marjane, Meursault, or myself. On the surface, the three of us are extremely dissimilar, but we all experience relatively negative things that teach us more than we knew before. Marjane Satrapi is a real woman who grew up in Iran, Meursault is a character from North Africa, and I am a real teenage girl from a small seaside town. Nonetheless, when it comes to existentialism, the three of us stand as examples of the legitimacy of its philosophy.

Read More
1041 Words | 5 Pages

Following the Second World War, existentialism became a well-known and significant philosophical and cultural movement, mainly through the public prominence of two French writers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, who wrote best-selling novels, plays and widely read journalism as well as theoretical texts. Sartre had been imprisoned in Germany in 1940 but managed to escape, and become one of the leaders of the Existential movement. Camus, was a spokesman for the French Underground when he wrote his famous essay, “Le Mythe de Sisyphe” or “The Myth of Sisyphus” Born on June 21, 1905, Sartre is arguably the best known philosopher of the twentieth century. pursuit of philosophical reflection, literary creativity and, in the second half of his life, active political commitment gained him worldwide renown, if not admiration. Sartre writings set the tone for intellectual life in the decade immediately following the Second World War.

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

Jean-Paul Sartre dissents from Leibniz, who believes that God created man’s purpose in life and then brought them into the world, and instead emphasizes existentialism: a theory highlighting the individual person as a free and responsible agent through the acts that the individual performs based on free will. However, the acts that one commits does not just affect himself, it affects all of man which is why Sartre is correct to claim that the meaning of life is to face our terrible responsibilities for oneself and humanity, and create our purpose in life in a good faith effort, otherwise life is meaningless. Sartre’s very notion is that existence precedes essence which means that man exists and appears in the world first, and defines himself

Read More
476 Words | 2 Pages

Essay 4 Jean-Paul Sartre was an influential philosopher of the 19th century because of his thought on existentialism. Sartre believed that there was no God or mother nature. “God makes man according to a procedure and a conception, exactly as the artisan manufactures a paper-knife, following a definition and a formula. ”(Solomon, p.622)

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does” (Jean-Paul Sartre). This reflectful proposition endorses the central idea behind No Exit and epitomizes Sartre’s existentialist perspective of mankind and the consequences of our freedom. Existentialism as a whole is a mind-boggling proposition and philosophy especially for those who depend on rules and reasons. Many religions and philosophies believe that human life and existence have a precursory meaning or purpose. Existentialism, on the other hand, implies that such concepts haven’t a meaning until humans give it to them, an idea articulated cleverly by Sartre himself as “existence precedes essence.”

Read More
1226 Words | 5 Pages

In the post of World War II, Jean-Paul Sartre – philosopher and novelist – became one of the most influential men of the 1900’s. His novel, Being and Nothingness, written in 1943, provides an analysis of his internal views of philosophy, and initially helped in sparking one of the most influential philosophical movements. Within the text, Sartre examines and presents many concepts of existentialism. Those concepts included, but are not limited to, freedom, responsibility, and relationships with others. Possibly the most intense concept that sprouted from his view was that of Bad faith.

Read More
549 Words | 3 Pages

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a “Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author” (Soren Kierkegaard, n.d., n.p.). Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a “French philosopher, playwright, novelist, political activist, biographer, and literary critic” (Jean-Paul Sartre, n.d., n.p.). Despite living in different centuries and having different religious beliefs, they were both considered to be existentialist philosophers. In this paper, I will define existentialism, as well as, explain how Kierkegaard, a radical Christian, and Sartre, a radical atheist, can both be called existentialists.

Read More
484 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus centers his theme around existentialism. Existentialism is how people determine their own path within their actions. Meursault, the main character in The Stranger believes highly in existentialism. He is a nonreligious man with the mindset of his own. For instance when his mother died he didn’t ask to see her body.

Read More
1491 Words | 6 Pages

As the French, absurdist philosopher Albert Camus once said, “Being different is not a bad thing. It means you are brave enough to be yourself.” That summed up with our topic, which is absurdity through human existence, a human being should tolerate the absurd condition of human existence. Albert Camus introduces Meursault the protagonist and narrator of the book The Stranger, who is a stranger through society eyes and the title point out his personality in the world of absurdity. Meursault is indifferent and alienates young man to others.

Read More
911 Words | 4 Pages

The argument Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, presents on existentialism helps to prove the foundation which is “existence precedes essence”. Existentialism is normally understood as an ideology that involves evaluating existence itself and the way humans find themselves existing currently in the world. For the phrase existence precedes essence, existence’s etymology is exsistere or to stand out while the term Essence means “being” or “to be” therefore the fundamental of existentialism, literally means to stand out comes before being. This can be taken into many different ideas such as individuals having to take responsibility for their own actions and that in Sartre’s case the individual is the sole judge of his or her own actions. According to him, “men is condemned to be free,” therefore “the destiny of man is placed within himself.”

Read More

More about Comparing Existentialism In Jean-Paul Sartre And Albert Camus

Open Document