Existence precedes essence is Jean-Paul Sartre's formula for the central claim of his existentialism: that a human being first exists, without any predetermined purpose or nature, and only afterward defines what it is through its own free choices. Sartre contrasts this with a manufactured object such as a paper knife, whose essence, its intended purpose, precedes its existence in the mind of its maker; a human being, on his account, has no maker and so no essence to precede it.
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Source Jean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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Source Jean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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1. Jean-Paul Sartre (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Jean-Paul Sartre, section 4.1 Negation and Freedom
Rather, 'existence precedes essence', as he famously remarks in both Being and Nothingness and Existentialism is a Humanism.
- In Branch: Metaphysics
- Associated With: Jean-Paul Sartre
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What does "existence precedes essence" mean?
Jean-Paul Sartre's formula for the claim that a human being first exists, with no predetermined nature, and only afterward defines what it is through its own free choices.
Existence precedes essence is Jean-Paul Sartre's formula for the central claim of his existentialism: a human being first exists, without any predetermined purpose or nature, and only afterward defines what it is through its own free choices. Sartre contrasts this with a manufactured object such as a paper knife, whose essence, its intended purpose, precedes its existence in the mind of its maker. A human being, on his account, has no maker, and so has no essence that precedes it.
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