Sartre on being condemned to be free

Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre in Beijing, 1955

“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.”

~ Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a 20th century French philosopher, playwright, and novelist who established existentialism as a major philosophical movement. His work explored themes of human existence and absurdity, and centered on existentialism, which analyzes how humans find themselves in solitude. Sartre believed that humans are characterized by an existence that precedes their essence, and wrote that humans are “useless people” lost in an indifferent world. 

Born June 21, 1905, 16th arrondissement, Paris, France

Died April 15, 1980 (age 74 years), 14th arrondissement, Paris, France

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