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What it is - A 1945/1946 public lecture (original French: L’existentialisme est un humanisme) in which Jean‑Paul Sartre presents and defends existentialism against common criticisms. It’s a popular, accessible statement of core existentialist ideas rather than a dense technical treatise. Core claims - “Existence precedes essence”: humans first exist and only later define themselves by their choices and actions. There is no fixed human nature that determines what you should be. - Radical freedom and responsibility: because we are not given a defined essence, we are radically free to choose; with that freedom comes full responsibility for our actions and for the values we create. - Anguish, forlornness, despair: recognition of freedom produces existential feelings. Anguish arises from realizing we choose not only for ourselves but—by our example—for all humanity. Forlornness comes from the absence of God or any external moral guarantor. Despair is the limitation of what we can control. - Bad faith (mauvaise foi): the tendency to deny or evade our freedom (e.g., pretending one is determined by role, circumstance, or “human nature”). Authenticity involves acknowledging and acting on our freedom responsibly. - Universalization: when you choose, you implicitly endorse the kind of person you think everyone should be; thus choices have universal moral weight. - Humanism defense: Sartre argues existentialism is a form of humanism because it affirms human freedom, dignity, and the meaningfulness of human projects—even without God or fixed essences. Examples (brief) - A person choosing a career not because of a “natural” vocation but by committing to a project; in choosing, they also model what it is to be a person who makes that choice. - Refusing to accept a role uncritically (e.g., “I’m just a waitress”), and instead acknowledging one’s power to redefine oneself. Replies to critics (main targets) - Against charges of despair and amorality: Sartre says existentialism makes ethics possible by grounding values in human projects and responsibility. - Against charges of solipsism: freedom implies responsibility to others, because our choices set examples for humanity. Limits and common criticisms - Critics argue Sartre’s account overstates freedom and underplays social, psychological, and material constraints (facticity). Later existentialists and Marxists emphasize structure and circumstance more. - The claim that one’s choice implicitly endorses a universal is contested as morally demanding and possibly implausible. - Some find the moral conclusion—create your own values—too open-ended or insufficiently normative. Where to read - Jean‑Paul Sartre, “Existentialism Is a Humanism” (lecture, 1945/46). For context, read Sartre’s Being and Nothingness (1943) and secondary commentaries (e.g., Hazel E. Barnes’s translation and introduction). Key takeaway Sartre’s lecture insists we are free makers of ourselves: without given essences or divine guides, we must choose, accept the anguish of that freedom, and act responsibly—because in choosing for ourselves we set an example for all.