Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Read the original work by Sartre' on Existentialism: Bottom of page 72-74.
Assignment Due Friday - 10 points. You can do this one of two ways:
1) Comment on the following question on the blog (or respectfully comment on someone's comment).
OR:
2) e-mail or hand in via paper form your thoughts on the question.
Question: Whether you totally agree, totally disagree or some of both with Sartre's ideas here, is his perspective negative or positive, or both - why or why not?
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading Sartre's work I obtained a more neutral perspective. The reading was a bit confusing but I did not notice his point of view covered many areas. He did not focus completely on his stance but gave a general description as to how others may look at such topic. One may believe in God where essence precedes existence or an atheist believes existence precedes essence. God created all giving us but it started with essence on the other hand it is believed man was created first and gave himself his own essence. Sartre never approached the topic with negativity but did not overwhelm the reader in positivity either. He had a mix of both, though he did better promote the atheist way he did explain the theist approach with an open mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lexi. I was a bit confused at first what he was trying to say, but He focused a lot on how God has always been the conceived as the creator and the leader and the reason behind every law or decision ever made, but that a what a man does and who a man is makes a man himself contradicting what has always been believed by many people. A man can start and plan a future and doesn't need a god or something creating it. He wasn't negative about being a theist but he wasn't positive about it either. He isn't strictly an atheist because of his open mind towards the ideas of a theist.
ReplyDeleteSartre identifies himself as an atheist philosopher early in the reading. Throughout the article, however, I don't get the impression that he means to sway the reader either way. He merely informs each point of view adequately. In some part of the reading, he discusses "if" something is the way it is, something else happens. Several times, I noted, he gives more information to his shared atheistic views than the typical "Christian" ones. When he says "Christian" views, I was a little confused. Christians aren't the only ones that necessarily believe in God; just that Jesus was the Savior. Granted, he knows more about his own philosophy than any others.
ReplyDeleteI feel that his swaying leaves the reader to make their own decisions based upon the information presented. Sartre very clearly allows the reader to see every aspect and to make their own judgement, and this leads me to believe that he intended only to allow everyone who garnered this text a full view into his exact sentiments rather than forcing any of his own upon you.
DeleteNice comment Mason. Katrina in answer to your confusion about Christians and Sartre', the overwhelming majority of theists in France in his time were Christians, and he was simply speaking to the public of his day and age in his location. That, however, was a very good observation you made..
DeleteI agree with Katrina on this. Sartre said he was an atheist philosopher, but never really tried to make others believe what he believed. He was more just informing his readers of his thoughts. He seemed open-minded about the ideas of other and didn't strictly have his feelings towards one an atheist point of view. I liked how he was able to tell his beliefs and opinions in a respectful manner and he still made theists want to read what he had to say.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Sartre's passage I felt he spoke as though what he was saying could be interpreted as a Christian. As he states how everything began from the existence of one man, a Christian like myself could say God created Adam who was the first man on Earth, which is where everything began and since God granted Adam the choice of free will, this caused Adam to sin against God. Yet since God granted free will He also grants forgiveness and He also allows others to do as they please such as not believing in Him and His work. I feel as though Sartre's work doesn't completely meet the atheist requirements, but what he said can be interpreted in different ways so maybe I'm not completely understanding, but what I interpreted was that his theory could hold true for Christians as well as atheists.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he was biased in either way. He told the readers that he was atheist, so I had that in my mind. I could tell he was atheist because some of his opinions obviously told he was atheist. Since he was atheist, he may have swayed the reader with his opinions and reasons. Just like the other girls, I was confused with what exactly he was trying to get at. I understand that he thinks every man has his own will and destiny and God has nothing to do with that, but I was confused by his way of stating it. He said extentialism's first move is to make every man aware of what he is. Christians are aware of who they are and although God has the ultimate plan for us, we still make our own decisions throughout our life.
ReplyDeletei feel it was negative and positive how he thinks that men have there own free will. it makes haters and people who enjoy and agree. I didn't understand all of it but what i did understand i some what agree with but no matter what you do everything has a negative and a positive. there is always that one person.
ReplyDeleteI obtained a neutral stand point on his views. I am someone who does not believe in a higher power. I do not believe one person has one plan. I believe once every person is born there purpose progresses. Their purpose is not planned out. We decide, not some figment of belief. I do believe that anything carried out by one person has a negative and a positive effect. Nothing can go unpunished or unrewarded. There is an effect to ever cause.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally with we have to find for ourself what is right and wrong. I agree very much with Bryce Matthews on the point of "What dose it matter if god is real or not." shouldn't we make for ourself what is right and wrong? If someone believes in a higher power we really should not discard their point of view just because we do not want to follow a religion. Also that should work in reverse and the religious should not force their views on others. But in reality we, as a society, can not get that to happen where people will just protect opinion on others.
ReplyDeleteEvidently you've been reading past posts from students in past years, and that is great!
DeleteAt first I was very confused during the reading but some points obviously stood out. One being that the writer was an Atheist Philosopher. He believed in the free will of men but did not push his beliefs and also stated Christian beliefs. I respect that he did not try to make others believe as he does. I personally feel that I am here to create myself. To make decisions and to make mistakes. I think each person should be able to choose exactly what they believe even if it includes picking and choosing from many belief systems or choosing not to believe in anything. What does it matter to others what your beliefs are? They are yours. I don't think beliefs should be influenced by family or friends and one should not feel bad if they stray from what their parents would like them to believe. As crazy as it sounds there are Christian Wiccan's who hold both Christian beliefs and Wiccan values. They may not be accepted by all but this does not stop them from openly practicing what they believe.
ReplyDeleteThe reading was somewhat confusing for the start. Sartre mentions his thoughts about different things he believes in but he doesn't expect everyone else to have the same thoughts as him. Ehile being an atheist philosopher, he didnt try to make others believe in everything he belived in. His point of view covered multiple areas, not only one in specific. Having your own thoughts and beliefs not only shows strength in your mind, but also shows strength in your body!
ReplyDeleteThe main idea I took out of Sartre's writing was man's responsibility for himself and his actions, as it represents humanity as a whole. This does not matter whether you're a theist or an atheist or anything in-between or outside of the spectrum. Being an atheist myself, he put exactly part of what I believe into great words. I feel what he was saying about both theists and atheists was more so about the way each thinks and rationalizes rather than what they believe. I very much respect how he noted he had a stance as an atheist, but that he was still going to present both sides in order to let the reader make an informed choice either way. He also didn't try to make the reader read between the lines, as I felt he was very upfront in what he was trying to say. I am an agnostic atheist, which I define as agnosticism being the knowledge (or admitted knowledge) of knowing there is no evidence which can prove nor disprove the existence of a greater power and the atheism being personal belief that there is likely not one. Yet I still believe there is something beyond the world we see and feel, such as worlds of spirits or alternate planes of existence possibly existing within our own. I just do not believe any of it was intentionally created, even if I can't prove it. Each person holds different beliefs, even if some hold similarities, and practices them differently. None should judge the other, but rather should teach those who are curious about it (instead of insisting they are the only one who is correct) so a person can look at many different forms of beliefs and form their own based upon what they come to believe is true for them. I believe our lives are our own, and only we can make our futures happen for ourselves as our "destinies" change with every decision we make.
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ReplyDeleteI feel like Sartre took a pretty negative approach to existentialism but it was also positive depending on who you ask I'm sure. I'm glad he explained other views before explaining his own. I think wether or not you believe in God plays a huge role in how each individual views existentialism. With the information about God and the creation of mankind, how could a christian not believe essence comes before creation? To look at it from an atheists' point of view is completely different. It really just seems like an opinion. Whether or not Sartre's opinion is positive or negative is kind of another opinion. Some could argue we have a purpose as humans, simply to live and to discover our individual purpose. The ability to use our free will to decide a future for ourselves is our essence. I agree the purpose of each individual is determined as we live our lives but a more basic essence precedes our creation. Existentialism is a difficult concept to wrap the mind around and while whether or not you believe in God has a large effect on views, it almost depends on the situation. When the wheel was invented, people needed it and an essence proceeded existence. The popsicle, however, was invented on accident by an 11 year old, I don't really think there was an essence before existence in this case.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sartre on some of the things he mentions like how man is his own fate and how its mans decision to choose what he wants to make of himself. I also believe the choice of "will" is very important to making you you .He also mentions how Christians look at philosophy a little different then. And trying to wrap your head around how exitetialism really works and what it is can be very challengin
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this I didn't know exactly how to take this and apply it too my life. Sartre was thinking out side of the box, seeing how man interacts with its surroundings. He also brought forth the atheist, with this now being brought out it as hard for people to believe that a person doesn't believe in a higher power like a god or gods for example. By doing this it opened many of the peoples views on life. He also stated that essence preceded existence, that can come into play in almost every aspect of your life. Also theres the theory thats the exact opposite that existence precedes essence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with different points in many of the comments above. Chloe stated, I feel like Sartre took a pretty negative approach to existentialism but it was also positive depending on who you ask I'm sure." I think this is a perfect example of the diversity in fate. Every person makes/creates their own fate whether others agree or not.
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