Abstract
Ideas such as “I am born a labor, poor, a hereditary syphilitic/unhandy” are ones that people tend to resort to as excuses when they feel as if the odds of life are stacked against them and characterized it either “fate” or punishment. In every life situation, an individual finds a choice. In the contemporary world, human life faces boundary situations (COVID) and messy lived experiences such as paralysis, which have different consequences for different people. However, life seems more difficult for the less fortunate to escape their predicament and enjoy a better life. The presence of difficult human conditions in the world brings some serious questions concerning our fate, facticity, situation, and freedom into a sharp focus. In this connection, the paper attempts to rethink Sartre’s idea of absolute freedom in the context of situations that Sartre characterizes as facticity. Since Sartre affirms that humanity encounters certain restrictions on the road of freedom he also claims that freedom alone may change the situation of an individual. The study, however, tries to explore how an individual enjoys freedom despite certain restrictions and limitations and explain how both of these points of view are valid. The work, however, interprets Sartre’s idea of absolute freedom in terms of existential counseling to transcend facticity and break the barriers that prevent people from living a free, authentic, and worthwhile life.
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Notes
Stumpf Samuel E., Elements of Philosophy An Introduction, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Singapore, 1987, p. 138.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen, Ltd. London, 1943, p. ixiii.
Catalano Joseph S., A Commentary on Being and Nothingness, University of Chicago Press, London, 1974, p. 46.
Solomon C. Solomon, Existentialism, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 204.
H. J. Blackham, Six Existentialist Thinkers, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd. London, 1952, p. 128.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen, Ltd., London, 1943, p. xxiii.
Copleston Frederick Charles, A History of Philosophy, Volume 9, Maine DE Biran to Sartre, Buran and Oates, Kent, 1975, pp. 354–355.
Ibid, p. xxxi.
Catalano Joseph S., A Commentary on Being and Nothingness, university of Chicago press, London, 1974, p. 100.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. 481.
Bhadra, M. K., A Critical Survey of Phenomenology and Existentialism, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1990, p. 369.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. 489.
Ibid, p. 489.
Ibid, p. 489.
Ibid, p. 490.
Ibid, p. 497.
Ibid, p. 498.
Ibid, p. 504.
Ibid, P. 506.
Bhadra, M. K., A Critical Survey of Phenomenology and Existentialism, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1990, p. 370.
Ibid, p. 370.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. 532.
Catalano Joseph S., A Commentary on Being and Nothingness, university of Chicago press, London, 1974, p. 211.
Cox Gary, How To Be An Existentialist, Bloomsbury, London, 2009, p. 49.
Ibid, p. 49.
Catalano Joseph S., A Commentary on Being and Nothingness, university of Chicago press, London, 1974, p.100.
Stern Alfred, Sartre His Philosophy and Existential Psychoanalysis, Vision Press Limited, London, 1968, p. 145.
Copleston Frederic, History of Philosophy, Volume 09 Maine de Biran to Sartre, Burns and Oates, Kent, 1975, p. 358.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. Ivi.
Ibid, p. 439.
Ed., Richard Kearney and Mara Rainwater, The Continental philosophy, Routledge Publications, London, 1996, p. 76.
Sartre Jean Paul, Existentialism and Humanism, Tr. By Philip Mairet, Methuen London, 1946, p. 28.
Ibid, p. 27.
Ibid, p. 27.
Ibid, p. 41.
Nevertheless, I thought Sartre was highly insightful and important in the existential world. But some of his ideas are vulnerable to philosophical critique. It has been noted that Sartre portrays for-itself as an incomplete project, an unhappy consciousness, and a never-ending quest for completion show that for-itself is unfinished and concludes with absolute sadness at not achieving wholeness and completion. It paints (for itself) a bleak image of human existence. In this situation, I believe the reality of (for-itself) is still mired in confusion, ambivalence, and irritation over having not yet achieved its objective. In general, the philosophy of Sartre views the human realm as a continuous stream of experiences and consciousness. It is envisioned as being (for-itself) meaningless, without any sort of objective or lasting fulfillment. However, it reveals that in Sartre's worldview, people are always on the move. As a result, this explanation does not bring happiness, hope, or healing to human life. The appraisal of human existence by Sartre exhibits a fissure in the sense that it is heading for nothingness, I wonder how a beautiful, and creative human who has taken years and years to become “something” and developed his/her essence by consciously willing, acting, and feeling can turn into nothing as if it never existed.
Harris Sam, Free Will, Free Press, New York, https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Free_Will/iRpkNcRt1IcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover.
Ibid.
H. J. Blackham, Six Existentialist Thinkers, Routledge and kegan paul, ltd landon, 1952, p. 34.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. xxix.
Sartre Jean Paul, Existentialism is a Humanism, Yale University Press, London, 1947, p. 29.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen, Ltd., London, 1943, p. 55.
Sartre Jean Paul, War Dairies, Notebooks from a Phony War-1939-40, Trans. Hoare Quintin, Verso, 1984, p. 112.
Sartre Jean Paul, Being and Nothingness, Trans. By Hazel E. Barnes, Methuen and Co. Ltd. London, 1943, p. 630.
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Mallah, J.A. Does Fate Hinder Freedom? A philosophical Praxis. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 41, 37–61 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00316-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00316-x