Existence Precedes Essence
From Austin Cline,
Your Guide to Agnosticism / Atheism.
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Themes and Ideas in Existentialist Thought
Originated by Jean-Paul Sartre, the phrase “existence precedes essence” has come to be a classic, even defining, formulation of the heart of existentialist philosophy. It’s an idea which turns traditional metaphysics on its head because throughout Western philosophy, it was always assumed that the “essence” or “nature” of a thing is more fundamental and eternal than its mere “existence.” Thus, if you want to understand a thing, what you must do is learn more about its “essence.”
It should be understood that Sartre does not apply this principle universally, but only to humanity. Sartre argued that there were essentially two kinds of being. The first is being-in-itself (l’en-soi), which is characterized as fixed, complete, and having absolutely no reason for its being — it just is.
2007-10-24
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