Man is condemned to be free.
Jean-Paul Sartre Existentialism is a Humanism, lecture (1946)
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When and why it was written
- When
- Delivered as a public lecture in Paris in October 1945, published 1946.
- Why
- Sartre was defending existentialism against the charge that it was despairing and quietist.
What it means
Condemned is chosen deliberately. Sartre is not celebrating freedom; he is describing a sentence.
Without a given human nature there is nothing to consult and no way to be excused. Every act is authored, including the ones performed under pressure, which is why he treats freedom as a weight rather than a gift.
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Existentialism is a Humanism, 1946
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