Sartre observed, "Hell is other people." Agree or disagree? Why?

Question

I agree. It seems like once or twice a day someone out there proves it. I think everyone tries to get through life as best as possible, but it's like running a human obstacle course. There are those who are going to be in your way, and, well, make thing hellish.

Answer 1

well,
as an introvert i agree.

Answer 2

Yes i sometimes agree with this statement. We, as humans learn from our experiences. And our experiences are caused by human interactions. So we are let down, criticized, manipulated, taught to become negative from others really.......so most of the negative aspects that we encounter in life, are human made.
But i wouldn't go as far as to call them Hell though. Those people who are the agony, are themselves agonized, and only became that way from suffering in the same manner that you do now.
Negativity is a cycle that you, as an adult have the ability to break and find better ways of dealing with life. Not all people are capable of self discipline, some are just too bitter to even try. But you can become a positive person, and actually become an angel and try to give people a taste of heaven. Example of these people are (Excluding Prophets if you're a believer) : Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., The Dalai Lama, Gandhi, and alot of other behind the scene people that put their lives on hold just so they could help other people.
So it's yin and yan really........Positive and Negative...and i believe that without the negative, we can't really enjoy and appreciate the positive.
Good Luck

Answer 3

I would take the opposite approach, and say, "hell is not other people, but, rather, 'me'. Why, because, at one time or another, we are all "other people". So, with this understanding, wouldn't it behoove us to strive to not be hell in other people's experience? Wouldn't that solve the problem right there? Meet each person not as an obstacle, or a challenge, but, rather, as an opportunity to brighten someone else's day, smooth their path, ease their burden. Instead, we blunder along on our way, bulldozing everything in sight, and complaining about everybody else. Only by acknowledging that hell (and heaven) exists in us, will be be able to eradicate the one, and exalt the other. Or maybe not.

Answer 4

Spiritually, I disagree. People primarily react to us via the rules of the world and not from a standpoint of truth. So while they hurt us in this present material world where social concerns and rings of self/ego separate us, this pain won't last. Hell, I believe, is an absence of love. Sartre never had to undergo solitary confinement. I think if he had spent much time in a Children's Hospital, he might have said that Heaven is Other People. Just depends on state of mind.

Answer 5

actually, i believe he said "hell is other people at breakfast", probably meaning that others are hard to face first thing in the morning. but, ultimately, it all comes back to being as tolerant of others as possible,any time of day, not an easy task. as a previous answerer suggests, meditating alot and taking back ones own projections, for starters, go a long way in keeping things peaceful, bearable and less hellish. an understanding of how our minds work, generally, helps to explain, why we move back and forth between heaven and hell many times during a day. check out *the complete idiot's guide to toltec wisdom*. it's a very readable explanation on the problems we humans face if we don't get our runaway minds under "control", and practices to help us get that control.

Answer 6

I agree, because there s another statement by Nietzsche which to me, is the explanation why it is so. Th statement went something like this -" What is good- anyting that is borne out of power , what is evil -anything that is borne out of weakness" So no wonder other people are hell, when this life in this age seems to be one huge competition. Thus ,one only gains power and consequently leave hell(evil) at the expense of someone else, who then is left in the dark

Answer 7

Hell can just as well be your projection of your own drama, hatred, prejudice, anger, or negativity in general, onto them...

If I can manage a day of focused meditation and deliberate outward projection of love, there isn't much that's hellish about the day at all -- or the people I encounter -- except for my own inability to maintain that state...

Answer 8

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether it's by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life breathed easier because you have lived...is to have succeeded

Answer 9

Disagree! One can feel like he/she is in hell without being around anyone else physically. Other people and objects are just mirrors reflecting one's own hellish state of mind.

Answer 10

There is no "Heaven" or "Hell" except in our own minds brought
on by scholars who were trying to stamp out paganism.
Its a way of controlling behavior by telling people of the worse
nightmarish situation if they misbehave.
Life is what we make it. Bad or good.

Answer 11

There is a Heaven and there is a Hell.
When you go out of your way to be kind to others you will find Heaven in your midst.

When you feel selfish and unkind or angry or self-righteousness, you can feel the darkness of Hell.

God Bless You, ;-)