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Jean-Paul Sartre Quotes

Philosopher

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher and writer whose works revolutionized the understanding of human freedom, responsibility, and the nature of existence. His philosophy emphasized that individuals are condemned to be free, bearing the weight of creating meaning in a world that offers none inherently. The following quotes capture Sartre’s reflections on freedom, choice, and the often difficult process of defining one's own identity in a world without predefined purpose.

If I didn't try to assume responsibility for my own existence, it would seem utterly absurd to go on existing.
From The Age of Reason
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Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.
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Life begins on the other side of despair.
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Existentialism is not so much an atheism in the sense that it would exhaust itself attempting to demonstrate the nonexistence of God; rather, it affirms that even if God were to exist, it would make no difference—that is our point of view. It is not that we believe that God exists, but we think that the real problem is not one of his existence; what man needs is to rediscover himself and to comprehend that nothing can save him from himself, not even valid proof of the existence of God. In this sense, existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only in bad faith—in confusing their own despair with ours—that Christians are able to assert that we are “without hope.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
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Life has no meaning, the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.
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Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.
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He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.
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No hope is necessary to undertake anything.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
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I said to myself, 'I want to die decently'.
From The Wall
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In life man commits himself and draws his own portrait, outside of which there is nothing. No doubt this thought may seem harsh to someone who has not made a success of his life. But on the other hand, it helps people to understand that reality alone counts, and that dreams, expectations and hopes only serve to define a man as a broken dream, aborted hopes, and futile expectations.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
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In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.
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But no: he was empty, he was confronted by a vast anger, a desperate anger, he saw it and could almost have touched it. But it was inert - if it were to live and find expression and suffer, he must lend it his own body. It was other people's anger. "Swine!" He clenched his fists, he strode along, but nothing came, the anger remained external to himself.
From The Age of Reason
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Nothing happens while you live. The scenery changes, people come in and go out, that's all. There are no beginnings. Days are tacked on to days without rhyme or reason, an interminable, monotonous addition.
From Nausea
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I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.
From Existentialism and Human Emotions
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I think of death only with tranquility, as an end. I refuse to let death hamper life. Death must enter life only to define it.
From No Exit
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Il n'y a de réalité que dans l'action.

(There is no reality except in action.)
From Existentialism is a Humanism
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There is only one day left, always starting over: It is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.
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It is therefore senseless to think of complaining since nothing foreign has decided what we feel, what we live, or what we are.
From Being and Nothingness
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One can ask why the I has to appear in the cogito {Descartes’ argument “I think therefore I am.}, since the cogito, if used rightly, is the awareness of pure consciousness, not directed at any fact or action. In fact the I is not necessary here, since it is never united directly to consciousness. One can even imagine a pure and self-aware consciousness which thinks of itself as impersonal spontaneity.
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I never could bear the idea of anyone's expecting something from me. It
always made me want to do just the opposite.
From No Exit
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All men are Prophets or else God does not exist.
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He walked on in silence, the solitary sound of his footsteps echoing in his head, as in a deserted street, at dawn. His solitude was so complete, beneath a lovely sky as mellow and serene as a good conscience, amid that busy throng, that he was amazed at his own existence; he must be somebody else's nightmare, and whoever it was would certainly awaken soon.
From The Age of Reason
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She smiled and said with an ecstatic air: "It shines like a little diamond",
"What does?"
"This moment. It is round, it hangs in empty space like a little diamond; I am eternal.
From The Age of Reason
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If I didn't try to assume responsibility for my own existence, it would seem utterly absurd to go on existing.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life begins on the other side of despair.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Existentialism is not so much an atheism in the sense that it would exhaust itself attempting to demonstrate the nonexistence of God; rather, it affirms that even if God were to exist, it would make no difference—that is our point of view. It is not that we believe that God exists, but we think that the real problem is not one of his existence; what man needs is to rediscover himself and to comprehend that nothing can save him from himself, not even valid proof of the existence of God. In this sense, existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only in bad faith—in confusing their own despair with ours—that Christians are able to assert that we are “without hope.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life has no meaning, the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
No hope is necessary to undertake anything.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I said to myself, 'I want to die decently'.
From The Wall
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In life man commits himself and draws his own portrait, outside of which there is nothing. No doubt this thought may seem harsh to someone who has not made a success of his life. But on the other hand, it helps people to understand that reality alone counts, and that dreams, expectations and hopes only serve to define a man as a broken dream, aborted hopes, and futile expectations.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But no: he was empty, he was confronted by a vast anger, a desperate anger, he saw it and could almost have touched it. But it was inert - if it were to live and find expression and suffer, he must lend it his own body. It was other people's anger. "Swine!" He clenched his fists, he strode along, but nothing came, the anger remained external to himself.
From The Age of Reason
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Nothing happens while you live. The scenery changes, people come in and go out, that's all. There are no beginnings. Days are tacked on to days without rhyme or reason, an interminable, monotonous addition.
From Nausea
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I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.
From Existentialism and Human Emotions
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I think of death only with tranquility, as an end. I refuse to let death hamper life. Death must enter life only to define it.
From No Exit
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Il n'y a de réalité que dans l'action.

(There is no reality except in action.)
From Existentialism is a Humanism
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There is only one day left, always starting over: It is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is therefore senseless to think of complaining since nothing foreign has decided what we feel, what we live, or what we are.
From Being and Nothingness
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One can ask why the I has to appear in the cogito {Descartes’ argument “I think therefore I am.}, since the cogito, if used rightly, is the awareness of pure consciousness, not directed at any fact or action. In fact the I is not necessary here, since it is never united directly to consciousness. One can even imagine a pure and self-aware consciousness which thinks of itself as impersonal spontaneity.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I never could bear the idea of anyone's expecting something from me. It
always made me want to do just the opposite.
From No Exit
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All men are Prophets or else God does not exist.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He walked on in silence, the solitary sound of his footsteps echoing in his head, as in a deserted street, at dawn. His solitude was so complete, beneath a lovely sky as mellow and serene as a good conscience, amid that busy throng, that he was amazed at his own existence; he must be somebody else's nightmare, and whoever it was would certainly awaken soon.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
She smiled and said with an ecstatic air: "It shines like a little diamond",
"What does?"
"This moment. It is round, it hangs in empty space like a little diamond; I am eternal.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
If I didn't try to assume responsibility for my own existence, it would seem utterly absurd to go on existing.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life begins on the other side of despair.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Existentialism is not so much an atheism in the sense that it would exhaust itself attempting to demonstrate the nonexistence of God; rather, it affirms that even if God were to exist, it would make no difference—that is our point of view. It is not that we believe that God exists, but we think that the real problem is not one of his existence; what man needs is to rediscover himself and to comprehend that nothing can save him from himself, not even valid proof of the existence of God. In this sense, existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only in bad faith—in confusing their own despair with ours—that Christians are able to assert that we are “without hope.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life has no meaning, the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
No hope is necessary to undertake anything.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I said to myself, 'I want to die decently'.
From The Wall
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
In life man commits himself and draws his own portrait, outside of which there is nothing. No doubt this thought may seem harsh to someone who has not made a success of his life. But on the other hand, it helps people to understand that reality alone counts, and that dreams, expectations and hopes only serve to define a man as a broken dream, aborted hopes, and futile expectations.
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But no: he was empty, he was confronted by a vast anger, a desperate anger, he saw it and could almost have touched it. But it was inert - if it were to live and find expression and suffer, he must lend it his own body. It was other people's anger. "Swine!" He clenched his fists, he strode along, but nothing came, the anger remained external to himself.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Nothing happens while you live. The scenery changes, people come in and go out, that's all. There are no beginnings. Days are tacked on to days without rhyme or reason, an interminable, monotonous addition.
From Nausea
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.
From Existentialism and Human Emotions
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I think of death only with tranquility, as an end. I refuse to let death hamper life. Death must enter life only to define it.
From No Exit
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Il n'y a de réalité que dans l'action.

(There is no reality except in action.)
From Existentialism is a Humanism
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There is only one day left, always starting over: It is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is therefore senseless to think of complaining since nothing foreign has decided what we feel, what we live, or what we are.
From Being and Nothingness
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
One can ask why the I has to appear in the cogito {Descartes’ argument “I think therefore I am.}, since the cogito, if used rightly, is the awareness of pure consciousness, not directed at any fact or action. In fact the I is not necessary here, since it is never united directly to consciousness. One can even imagine a pure and self-aware consciousness which thinks of itself as impersonal spontaneity.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I never could bear the idea of anyone's expecting something from me. It
always made me want to do just the opposite.
From No Exit
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
All men are Prophets or else God does not exist.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He walked on in silence, the solitary sound of his footsteps echoing in his head, as in a deserted street, at dawn. His solitude was so complete, beneath a lovely sky as mellow and serene as a good conscience, amid that busy throng, that he was amazed at his own existence; he must be somebody else's nightmare, and whoever it was would certainly awaken soon.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
She smiled and said with an ecstatic air: "It shines like a little diamond",
"What does?"
"This moment. It is round, it hangs in empty space like a little diamond; I am eternal.
From The Age of Reason
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote