Existentialism: Sartre’s Freedom and Responsibility, Camus’s Absurd and Revolt, Heidegger’s Dasein Philosophy
Existentialism’s core proposition was most clearly stated by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980): “Existence precedes essence” — for humans, there is no pre-specified human essence; we first exist (thrown into the world), then define ourselves through choices. This inverts traditional metaphysics (including Christian theology) — which held that humans have a divinely-specified essence and purpose.
## Sartre: Radical Freedom and Bad Faith
Sartre’s radical freedom: humans are “condemned to be free” — even choosing not to choose is a choice. This absolute freedom entails absolute responsibility: we cannot blame our nature, God, or circumstances. Any claim of “I had no choice” is **Bad Faith (mauvaise foi)** — the self-deception pattern of refusing to acknowledge one’s freedom and responsibility by hiding behind roles or necessity. His play *No Exit*’s famous line “hell is other people” doesn’t deny relationships but describes the objectification and freedom-threat felt under others’ gaze.
## Camus: The Absurd and Revolt
Albert Camus (1913–1960) is often classified as an existentialist, but rejected the label, preferring “absurdist.” **The Absurd** arises from the conflict between humanity’s desire for meaning and the world’s silence (the world offers no meaning). Facing the absurd, Camus rejected three responses: physical suicide (escape), philosophical suicide (using religious faith to assign transcendent meaning to the absurd), and despair. In *The Myth of Sisyphus* he proposed a third path: **revolt** — continuing to live and create while clearly acknowledging the absurd. “We must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
[Sartre’s *Being and Nothingness*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_and_Nothingness) and [Camus’s *The Myth of Sisyphus*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_Sisyphus) are essential existentialist/absurdist texts.
