An Interview with Jean-Paul Sartre

Hello all. Thanks for visiting this thread. Before we jump into the interview, I want to let you all know that I’ll be doing many more interviews with various philosophers. If there is a particular philosopher you would like me to interview, or have a question you’d like me to ask, please let me know by responding to this comment. <br><br>Now for the interview:<br><br>An Interview with Jean-Paul Sartre<br><br><br>Me: Professor Sartre, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. <br><br>Sartre: It’s a pleasure. Please, call me Jean-Paul.<br><br>Me: Okay, Jean-Paul, thanks. I’m sure you’ve answered these questions millions of times by now, but for those readers who may not be very well-versed in philosophy, could you give a basic overview of Existentialism?<br><br>Sartre: Sure. Existentialism states that there is no inherent meaning in life. We determine our own meaning, our own purpose. Themeden is nothing; we create our own meaning. And we must accept this responsibility. Part of the human condition is the acceptance of this responsibility: given that there is no inherent meaning, it is up to us to create our own meaning in life, our own purpose. <br><br>Me: I see. When I was in school, I was told that one of the main tenets of your Existentialist philosophy is that, “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is free to choose.” What do you mean by this?<br><br>Sartre: Exactly what I mean is that mankind is “condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is free to choose.” In that sense, we are condemned, sentenced to this freedom to choose; we cannot escape this responsibility. We cannot escape the responsibility of choosing. And we must accept the responsibility of the choices we make. To not choose is to choose. <br><br>Me: Is there any way to escape this responsibility?<br><br>Sartre: There is no escape from this responsibility. The only way is bad faith. <br><br>Me: Bad faith? What do you mean by that?<br><br>Sartre:: In bad faith, we adopt values and principles that are not authentic to us. We lie to ourselves. We act in accordance with these unauthentic values, even though we know they are not really ours, all in an attempt to escape the inherent responsibility of our freedom, to escape the responsibility of choosing. But this is futile, for even here, in bad faith, we are still making choices, we are still choosing. This is the nature of humanity. <br><br>Me: I see. I’d like to switch gears a bit now. You’ve had quite the life. You’ve been in the French Army, you’ve taught high school and university, you’ve written extensively, you’ve bounced from one romantic relationship to another; you’ve even spent time in prison. What advice would you give to your younger self? Do you believe in the concept of fate? That is to say, do you believe that the life you’ve lived was always going to be the life you’ve lived?<br><br>Sartre: Ha! Advice to my younger self? Well, my younger self would not have listened. The best advice I can give anyone is this: live your life authentically, with good faith, accepting the responsibility of your choices, without bad faith. As for fate, I do not believe in fate. There is no grand design; we create our own meaning. Given that, our choices determine our path in life. That is how we grow as individuals. That is how we become authentic.<br><br><br>Me: Well, Professor Sartre, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.<br><br>Sartre: You’re welcome. Thank you.