Full Idea
Existentialists no longer see man against a background of values, of realities, which transcend him. We picture man as a brave naked will.
Gist of Idea
Man is a brave naked will, separate from a background of values and realities
Source
Iris Murdoch (Against Dryness: a polemical sketch [1983], p.46), quoted by Kevin Aho - Existentialism: an introduction 7 'Subjectivism'
A Reaction
It is one thing to deny the values, and another to deny the realities. This piece is a 'polemic', and reads more like an exhortation than a truth. Many of us are, at best, cowardly naked wills.
Book Reference
Aho,Kevin: 'Existentialism: an introduction' [Polity 2014], p.111