Sartre argues existential freedom survives even imprisonment and death

Evidence

Sartre takes his argument to an extreme point by asserting that even war, imprisonment or the prospect of imminent death cannot take away my existential freedom. They form part of my ‘situation’, and this may be an extreme and intolerable situation, but it still provides only a context for whatever I choose to do next. If I am about to die, I can decide how to face that death. Sartre here resurrects the ancient Stoic idea that I may not choose what happens to me, but I can choose what to make of it, spiritually speaking. But the Stoics cultivated indifference in the face of terrible events, whereas Sartre thought we should remain passionately, even furiously engaged with what happens to us and with what we can achieve. We should not expect freedom to be anything less than fiendishly difficult. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 509

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Stoic philosophy and frames Sartre’s divergence; also ties to Man’s Search for Meaning-style resilience literature. — connects to: Sartre reframed freedom as a demand for responsibility born of nuclear-age self-knowledge — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 41; Sartre made freedom and personal responsibility the burden of his resistance allegory — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 511; Sartre’s freedom is not an attribute but the very existence of consciousness. — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of…, 410 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Sartre’s freedom is not an attribute but the very existence of consciousness. #expands (0.90) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 410
• Sartre made freedom and personal responsibility the burden of his resistance allegory #corroborates (0.85) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 511
• The inseparability of freedom and power undercuts Sartre’s claim that slaves are free #complicates (0.82) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 501
• Sartre holds freedom and facticity are ontologically distinct, so situation never limits freedom. #qualifies (0.78) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 636
• Sartre reinterpreted Freudian primal scenes as exercises of freedom #exemplifies (0.75) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 690