Jean-Paul Sartre: Philosopher of Radical Freedom

Filed under: Existential Elbows | Café Thinking™ | Mental Cartography™

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Imagine a world where God’s out to lunch and you’re left holding the menu. That’s Sartre. Existentialism’s chain-smoking French uncle who kicked the cosmos out the back door and said: “You’re on your own, kid.”

Born in 1905, Jean-Paul Sartre rejected the idea that humans have a divine essence. No instruction manual. No preset path. Just raw existence and the brutal burden of making it mean something.

Existence Before Essence

Sartre’s mantra was simple: existence precedes essence. You are not born a hero, a coward, a chef, or a philosopher. You just... are. And what you do next creates your essence. That’s terrifying. That’s freedom. That’s Sartre.

He saw life as a radical DIY project. No IKEA manual. No hotline to heaven. Just you, some angst, and a questionable moustache.

Bad Faith: The Mind's Escape Room

Sartre coined bad faith (mauvaise foi) to describe the little lies we tell ourselves to dodge responsibility. Stuck in a job you hate but call it “secure”? That’s bad faith. Playing dumb to your own potential? Bad faith again.

“We are condemned to be free.” — Sartre

Freedom, to Sartre, wasn’t a feel-good bumper sticker. It was a prison sentence. No excuses. No fallback. Just relentless, nauseating liberty. You can’t hide behind God, genetics, or your horoscope. You're the author, director, and lead actor of your own absurd play.

Simone, Cigarettes & Side-Eyes

Sartre didn’t do freedom alone. His partner, Simone de Beauvoir, was a towering thinker in her own right. Together, they redefined love, partnership, and philosophy — all while chain-smoking in Parisian cafés like noir icons with a book deal.

They weren’t romantic in the rom-com sense. They were existential allies. Teammates in the great project of being human without a script.

Sartre Today: The Meme King of Meaninglessness

• Still quoted in student unions and philosophy memes.
• Still misread by undergrads who think freedom is easy.
• Still relevant in a world of infinite choice and zero certainty.

Every time you wake up and scream into the void, Sartre nods. Every time you reject a 9–5 for a passion project that might bankrupt you? Sartre lights a cigarette in your honour.

He didn’t promise answers. He handed you a mirror and said: Look harder.

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