If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Man's existence precedes his essence
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the idea that individuals create their own identity and purpose through their actions, rather than being born with a predetermined essence.
Jean-Paul Sartre's assertion 'Man's existence precedes his essence' suggests that human beings first exist without any inherent purpose or definition, and it is through their choices and actions that they create their own essence or meaning in life. This philosophy aligns with existentialism, emphasizing personal responsibility and the freedom to define oneself without relying on external labels or expectations.
Themes
ExistenceEssenceFreedomIdentityChoice
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy class discussion about existentialism.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes βAll 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.
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If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
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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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How big are souls anyway?" asked Coraline. The other mother sat down at the kitchen table and leaned against the back wall, saying nothing. She picked at her teeth with a long crimson-varnished fingernail, then she tapped the finger, gently, tap-tap-tap against the polished black surface of her black button eyes.
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I'd finally come to understand what it had been: a yearning for a way out, when actually what I had wanted to find was a way in.
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The fact that we can't easily foresee clues that would betray an intelligence a million millennia farther down the road suggests that we're like ants trying to discover humans. Ask yourself: Would ants ever recognize houses, cars, or fire hydrants as the work of advanced biology?
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