841 Quotes by Jean-Paul Sartre

The consciousness that says ‘I am’ is not the consciousness that thinks.

What is there to fear in such a regular world?

The Intellectual is someone who meddles in what does not concern him.

Existentialism is not atheist in the sense that it would exhaust itself in demonstrations of the non-existence of God. It declares, rather, that even if God existed that would make no difference from its point of view. Not that we believe God does exist, but we think that the real problem is not that of His existence; what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself, not even a valid proof of the existence of God.

One is still what one is going to cease to be and already what one is going to become. One lives one’s death, one dies one’s life.

If existence really does precede essence, there is no explaining things away by reference to a fixed and given human nature. In other words, there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom. On the other hand, if God does not exist, we find no values or commands to turn to which legitimize our conduct. So, in the bright realm of values, we have no excuse behind us, nor justification before us. We are alone, with no excuses.

Perception is naturally surpassed toward action; better yet, it can be revealed only in and through projects of action. The world is revealed as an “always future hollow”, for we are always future to ourselves.

To exist is simply to he there; those who exist let themselves be encountered, but you can never deduce anything from them.

A good hanging now and then – that entertains folk in the provinces and robs death of its glamour.