Essay On Jean Paul Sartre

921 Words4 Pages
Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) Jean Paul Sartre was born in Paris in 1905. After losing his father at a young age, he moved in with his grandfather Karl Schweitzer, who was a respected writer of topics such as religion and philosophy. Karl played an important role in Jean Paul’s life, even though he was quiet strict and highly religious, he recognised Sartre’s unique mind, and somewhat influenced him. When Jean Paul finished High School in Paris, and having briefly served in the army, he gained a place at the University Ecole Normale Supérieure in 1924 to 1929, where he studied Philosophy. While studying he meet Simone de Beauvoir, who would eventually mean a great deal to Sartre as she became his lifelong friend up until his death in 1980. After finishing ENS and…show more content…
This difficult paradox—that one is responsible for one’s own consciousness, even though that consciousness is never quite graspable, since it is based on nothingness—goes to the heart of Sartre’s existentialism and is crucial to his conceptions of human freedom and moral responsibility.” (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). Jean Paul Sartre defines two types of being; Being-in-itself (en-soi) and Being-for-itself (pour-soi). He uses being-in-itself to describe consciousness, as it rises from the mind and is subject to our existence. It’s based around the world, therefore the role of others, is imperative to the existence of one’s self. “Consciousness is never aware of itself, as pure consciousness, rather it is only aware of itself through objects of consciousness. Pure consciousness is nothingness.” (Phil. Of the Human Person, Davy Walsh). Being-in-itself is used to describe things that have essence yet no consciousness of themselves. For example; things such as birds, plants, trees and rocks. Being-for-itself to describe human beings, who are

More about Essay On Jean Paul Sartre

Open Document