Optimistic meditations on Sartre's existentialism
In an attempt to highlight the optimism of Sartre's Existentialism, this paper investigates the two main fundamentals of existence, namely the Death of God and freedom, as articulated by Sartre in Existentialism is a Humanism (1946). The paper clarifies some misunderstandings concerning both co...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259029112500049X |
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| Summary: | In an attempt to highlight the optimism of Sartre's Existentialism, this paper investigates the two main fundamentals of existence, namely the Death of God and freedom, as articulated by Sartre in Existentialism is a Humanism (1946). The paper clarifies some misunderstandings concerning both concepts and their existential repercussions, arguing that Sartre's Existentialism is more optimistic than pessimistic due to the rational link between freedom, responsibility, anguish, and hope. To better understand this link, the paper examines some different types of optimism, namely realistic optimism and unrealistic optimism, emphasizing that the erroneous association between Sartre's Existentialism and pessimism stems from confusing unrealistic optimism with anguish and hope. Thus, the paper concludes that Sartre does not deny freedom or hope, but views humans as dynamic subjects that are responsible for their freedom and universality, which constitutes the core of realistic optimism. |
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| ISSN: | 2590-2911 |