WARNING: The Good Old "There was nothing I could do, the circumstances were against me" Excuse is No Longer Valid

In Sartre's efforts to redefine the blurred lines of Existentialism, I find that he also manages to discredit any excuse we've ever made for ourselves. In“Existentialism is a Humanism”, Jean-Paul Sartre argues that we as humans are radically free, and it is up to us to will ourselves to be who, and what we want to be through our actions. Though Sartre employs ideas of existentialism, anguish, and forlornness to strongly defend his view, there was one particular area of his argument that really got my wheels turning. ". . . in creating the man that we want to be, there is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we think he ought to be. . . Thus, our responsibility is much greater than we might have supposed, because it involves all mankind" (Sartre 37). This, to me, is a wild way to look at the world and our actions. Imagine that every decision, every bad decision you've made, somehow makes a statement about how you believe the world should be, and how all your fellow humans should conduct themselves. Personally, that is not quite my thought process as I often choose the less estimable of life's choices. However, i think there is some strong value in it. Sartre's call for men to take responsibility for how their actions reflect on humanity pushes one to be his/her best self. Sartre manages to discredit every excuse that might be used to circumvent our obligation to ourselves in striving for success or even just our actions on a day to day basis.

In the words of Spiderman's wise uncle (RIP) "With great power comes great responsibility". I think that Sartre presents an incredibly convincing argument in support of the idea that we are radically free and must therefore act in accordance with the moral responsibility we have to all humans. One of the most important lessons we can learn and benefit from is how our actions and decisions affect other people; the weight of the world rests on our shoulders. I myself found this article to be almost motivational, calling attention to the fact that we are responsible for not only ourselves, but how we want humanity to exist. This sense of moral consciousness does not stem from some intangible divine being, but from our own actions and sense of awareness of the people we share this earth with. Sartre’s presentation of radical freedom through his notions of existentialism, anguish, and forlornness, gave me this strong sense of the importance of holding myself accountable for my actions, making me question the kind of world I want to be a part of. I like the idea that one can reject the existence of God and instead use oneself and all other humans as the moral compass. In conclusion, I believe that we all have an effect on this world, and that not only do our actions affect our own lives and humanity as a whole, but that our radical freedom gives us the choice and responsibility to shape humanity the way we want it to exist.