Existence precedes essence
No predefined human nature determines our projects completely. Actions define us within situations without making us omnipotent.
A situation to think through
A job title does not decide how you treat a colleague.
Existentialism and the philosophy of praxis · 1905–1980
Jean-Paul Sartre
Answer for what you make of your situation.
Paris · Le Havre · Berlin
Philosophy
Ideas that shift your perspective.
Bad faith
We can treat our circumstances as immutable destiny or imagine ourselves as unattached freedom. Both evasions conceal the tension between facts and possibilities.
A situation to think through
Saying “that is just who I am” can avoid examining a changeable behavior.
The other's look
Other people reveal me as visible and interpretable from outside. This changes my relationship to myself without reducing all relationships to identical conflict.
A situation to think through
A public remark suddenly makes you see yourself as a character in someone else's eyes.
The practico-inert
Past actions settle into objects and institutions that subsequently impose constraints. Collective praxis tries to transform these conditions without standing outside them.
A situation to think through
An inherited workplace structure restricts choices even though nobody decided it today.