at the decisions we make are only up to us. Man is free to make his own choices and man is condemned in the fact that he is free. "Everything is choice."(1) Knowing that you are alone in your decisions can raise some very interesting questions. People must look into themselves and make the choices base on their own interpretations and experiences. The example of a young boy forced to make the choice between staying with his mother of joining the Free French forces illustrates forlornness. In his heart he knows that the decision is up to him and as a result he is forlorn. In staying with his mother the young boy is making a choice towards a "sympathetic sets of ethics and a concrete action." He may be giving up opportunities but feels that staying with his mother is the right decision. On the other hand if he chooses to leave his mother and join the Free French Forces, he is making the choice according to a "broader set of ethics and an action dealing with a national collectivity." If he chooses the second option it is what he feels is the right and just decision. |There is one problem no matter what path he chooses. He will soon be caught in a "vicious circle". He must make his own choice. Many people seek advice and they choose who will give it to them. A person chooses an advisor who will give them the answers and advice that they want to hear. If this young boy were to ask Sartre for advice, he would simply say, the choice is yours.Anguish and forlornness are connected by the fact that all men are responsible for their own actions. Every choice a person makes or action he takes is totally up to the individual. A person is entirely free with no outside sources having an impact on them. Sartre embraced the views and concepts of the atheistic existentialist. The concepts he introduced will continue to be discussed throughout time.While reading Existentialism is a Humanism, one must remember that it was intended for on...
