Jean-Paul Marat

Sartre is well known for his work in developing existential thought. The question being addressed in this paper is one that asks what Sartre meant by a “monstrous freedom.” In other words, in terms of existentialism, what did this idea of freedom have to do with the way in which human behavior is explained? In order to understand Sartre’s idea of existentialism, then this question of monstrous freedom must be addressed. One author wrote, “there is an infinite gap between the past and the…

“Waiting for Godot” uses stage direction, parallels, uncertainty, and a tragicomedy approach in order to show that Estragon and Vladimir’s lives are meaningless. This also extends to eventually convey Samuel Beckett’s larger commentary on the purpose of human existence. Beckett wants to show how every individual’s life has no purpose or meaning. Before any thorough analysis can be made, it is important to understand the larger, extended metaphor that is this play—a metaphor for humankind. This…

Duality exists across many concepts: dark and light, bad and good, burden and duty, war and peace. However, one of the most valuable is that of the beacon and the gibbet: the notion of carving our own futures for the sake of destiny. This idea is as old as time itself. In Greek mythology, the tale of Icarus is depicted as one of overestimation and pride. As the story goes, Icarus and his father flee imprisonment from the island of Crete using wings built of feathers and wax. His father warns him…

Though brief and comedic, Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit” offers insight into the basic ideas of his philosophy about freedom vs confinement. Sartre is able to portray the applicability of this philosophy to daily life though the commonplace setting of the work and the diversity of the basic character types found throughout the play. The main principles behind this one of Sartre’s philosophies are detailed through the three main characters, Cradeau Inez and Estelle, and their confinement to a…

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French Philosopher, novelist and literary critic. He was born on the 21st of June, 1905. During his life, he was one of the important figures in the philosophy of existentialism and also one of the prominent individuals in the 20th century French philosophy and Marxism. Existentialism is a 20th century philosophy which is basically centred on the analysis of existence, freedom and choice. It is the understanding that humans define their purpose in life and try to make…

he aim of this paper is to analyse Chris McCandless`s development of his idealistic lifestyle. Chris McCandless is the protagonist of the film “Into the Wild”. He tries to find his real personality and his ultimate freedom. Therefore, he leaves his family, all his material goods and, his social personality behind, to live a life alone. In his journey, he experiences a variety of difficult situations, which most of them he overcomes successfully. The last very demanding obstacle he is not able to…

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried presents an essentially contradictory narrative premise. Moreover, O’Brien presents himself as the protagonist, narrator, and author of the collection while declaring these roles mutually exclusive. Such oppositions force the reader to employ a synthetic and self-referential analysis to comprehend the internally oppositional narrative. In doing so, one finds that O’Brien’s systematic blurring of definitions accentuates his experiential perspective, rather…

In Soren Kierkegaard’s The Present Age: On The Death of Rebellion, he argues that this generation, now probably considered to be the last 200 years or so in this context, is one of “understanding and reflection, without passion.” He defines passion as a demonstrative willingness to take action in advocacy or living life in such a way that is beyond aimlessness or spectatorship. Defending Kierkegaard’s argument, I will explain how it is not only sensical, but also yet relevant to our ‘present…

male’s jaw. The male has this fearful look on his face as if he had just lost his sole. The billboard is presenting an image that shows white people as being better and more powerful, and black people as weak, and less powerful. Lewis Gordin and Jean-Paul Sartre both focus on bad faith and existential phenomenology. Existential phenomenology is used to describe a human experience of existence, living while adapting to your environment and determining values, purposes, emotions, choices,…

Racism has been defined in many ways from judgements and prejudices to actions on racial superiority. While there are many discussions on racism, its’ roots, and the implications on the lived circumstance of those in today’s society, I believe one prominent, modern Africana philosopher has a grasp like no other on the topic. Lewis Gordon describes racism and its dimensions in this quote. “Racism, properly understood, is a denial of the humanity of a group of human beings either on the basis of…