John Paul Sartre Existentialism Analysis

When a soldier goes off to war, they are told to follow orders first and foremost. Often soldiers fight for causes deemed just by their governments, meaning the individual soldier 's opinion on the validity of the war is not considered. In a country with a draft or some other form of mandatory military service, soldiers might be forced to fight a war they do not believe in. These circumstances might lead one to believe that soldiers are not morally responsible for acts committed in war. I will argue that John Paul Sartre’s Existentialism would condemn all notions of the soldiers holding no responsibility and claim that they were in fact responsible for all acts they themselves commit during the war, as well as Sartre’s argument in this case …show more content…
Everyone is responsible for their own actions and no matter how difficult the situation, there is always a choice in Sartre’s mind. It is institutions socialize people in a way that makes certain options appear impossible to take for Sartre. In societies that value honor, it may seem impossible to choose between dishonoring family members and following individual passions, but in reality, the only thing stopping someone from following their dreams is themselves. The same applies to the soldier. If the soldier doesn’t want to become a murderer, then he or she could run away. If the government threatens to hurt the soldier 's family if he or she runs away, the soldier could still run away, but they would have to live with guilt. If the soldier cannot live with the guilt, then he or she could just kill themselves. If the soldier decides to go to war, but doesn’t want to kill people, then he or she has the option of not shooting at anyone. There are a number of options the soldier could take to get out of going to war and not killing anyone if they did. In some of these scenarios the soldier does not live, but the soldier is not a murderer. Sartre would say that all these options are a result of the soldier’s innate freedom and that because of this freedom the soldier is responsible for any action he or she