If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that a person's essence is defined by their intentions and actions.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s quote reflects his existentialist philosophy, which asserts that individuals define themselves through their choices and actions. According to Sartre, a person does not possess inherent qualities beyond those they create through purposeful activities; thus, our identity and existence are determined by how we choose to act and realize our potential in life.
Themes
ExistenceIdentityActionsPurposeSelf-Realization
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the meaning of life, one might say, 'As Sartre put it, man is nothing else but what he purposes.'
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes →All I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
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Though silence is not necessarily an admission, it is not a denial, either.
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