Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, and activist who became the most famous proponent of existentialism. He declined the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964.

What Is Existentialism?

Existence precedes essence: humans have no predetermined nature. You are what you make of yourself. This freedom is also responsibility, producing anxiety. Bad faith is the denial of this freedom.

What Were His Major Works?

Being and Nothingness (1943) is his philosophical masterwork. Nausea (1938) is his novel of existential dread. No Exit (1944) contains the famous line hell is other people.

What Is His Legacy?

He made philosophy accessible and urgent, demonstrating that ideas about freedom have immediate personal and political consequences.

Jean-Paul Sartre is on HoloDream. He speaks with the intensity of someone who believed you are condemned to be free and considered that the most important fact about being human.