You are not a finished product, but a constant choice.
In short: Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism challenges the idea that you have a fixed nature. This video explores how humans lack a predefined essence and why your identity is something you must actively create rather than inherit.
Sartre argues that, aside from our biological features, human beings enter the world without an inherent purpose or 'essence.' Unlike objects designed for a specific task, people are defined by their actions and choices.
This perspective shifts the responsibility of identity onto the individual. Because there is no blueprint for who you are meant to be, you are fundamentally free—and responsible—for defining yourself through your own existence.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Don’t Let Others Define You | Sartre’s Existentialism
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