Single Idea 22228

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / B. Value / 1. Nature of Value / d. Subjective value]

Full Idea

Readers often confuse Sartre's notion of freedom with the freedom of acting whimsically ....but since there is no God, we must create our own values. Freedom is not merely a licence to act whimsically.; it entails responsibility.

Gist of Idea

Sartre's freedom is not for whimsical action, but taking responsibility for our own values

Source

report of Jean-Paul Sartre (Being and Nothingness [1943]) by Christine Daigle - Jean-Paul Sartre 2.3

Book Reference

Daigle,Christine: 'Jean-Paul Sartre' [Routledge 2010], p.44


A Reaction

The idea that we create our values comes from Nietzsche. Did Sartre want everyone to behave like an übermensch? How can you form a society from individuals who create private values, even if they (somehow) take responsibility for them?

Related Idea

Idea 22230 Sartre gradually realised that freedom is curtailed by the weight of situation [Sartre, by Daigle]