Being and Nothingness

Sartre’s existentialist philosophy addresses absurdism—the attempt and need to create meaning in a meaningless existence. Sartre views the struggle to create meaning as a mode of the condemnation of freedom. Sartre’s theory stands in contrast to the existentialist philosophies that preceded him; he believes that humans have free will, meaning they can make whatever choices they like based upon their own justifications. However, this presents them with a unique problem: They have all the opportunities in the world, but that world has no intrinsic meaning. This is the paradox of human freedom: Humans are free to make choices, but those decisions do not matter. Sartre suggests that the existence of the Other and the relational cycle between the Other and the being-for-itself creates freedom. Too often, however, humans make choices utilizing their free will that are based upon a false sense of meaning found within the Other. He illustrates this falsity by drawing a comparison between love and tyranny, arguing that both are forms of possession and that neither can ever fully satisfy.

All around him, Sartre saw leaders and individuals justifying their actions and modes of oppression using moral codes and values determined by false ideas of meaning and purpose.