Sartre and Nothingness

How does one grasp the nature of human existence? What does it mean to exist in a universe that, at its face, is cold, irrational and uncaring of human needs, desires, and concerns? Many have searched for their meanings through their own spiritual and religious interpretations. Whether through believing in omniscient, omnipotent beings shaped in the image of man or in singular manifestations of all existence, humanity at large has always sought solace from the potentiality that there may be nothing out there for us. Jean-Paul Sartre, a key philosopher of existential thought, approached this existential quandary differently. In his establishing work Being and Nothingness, Sartre espoused the notion that man is a being who is “haunted by completion,” something that he called the “ens causa sui,” what many identify as God. For Sartre, all exploits in pursuit of this divine perfection have and will prove fruitless, as “man is a useless passion.” Why? Because, “there is no meaning in life.” According to Sartre, Man searches and searches, yet the gains inevitably result in nothing but frustration. Man is doomed to fail in its quest for meaning, because there is no meaning. Man exists for nothing, only coming to exist through mere accident. The nature of existing is in and of itself arbitrary. We spend our lives in pursuit of meaning, occupying ourselves with useless tasks that inevitably amount to nothing but nothingness. Nothing is gained, nothing is earned; Man comes empty and goes empty. The effort and pains we take to live – are useless. His expression of this point seemed particularly poignant in his play, Les jeux sont faits. Two individuals, despite being given a second chance at life, fail to eke out any meaningful consequence despite their efforts. They realize the absurdity of life as they are forced to wander and witness the problems of friends and loved ones after their demise. Powerless to help and powerless to relieve themselves of their own suffering, they also come to understand the absurdity inherent to the condition of death. They are forced to view life but are yet prevented from participating in it meaningfully. Despite the seemingly nihilistic outlooks of Sartre, I believe that he channeled a central theme that was rooted in optimism throughout his works. Ultimately, I believe that Sartre held that all that keeps us from leading pointless, useless lives is our power and freedom to interact with our surrounding world according to our own choices. To exist may be an effort without inherent purpose, but that also frees us to establish and pursue our own individual meanings.