What is the phlosophy of Jean-Paul sartre?

Answer 1

It's a bit difficult to sum up Sartre's philosophy, but I hope this would be a good abridged version:

Sartre is most identified with his contributions to existentialism, he codified the aforementioned philosophy with his revelation that "existence precedes essence." This statement rejects the notion held by many philosophers and theologians since the time of Plato that consciousness first has an essence or archetype before it exists, because consciousness (or being) is a negation (this is not to say that existentialism is necessarily atheistic, but Sartre was an atheist existentialist). Man, to Sartre, is "condemned to be free."

Existentialism is a philosophy that gives priority to subjectivity, or consciousness; this priority stemming from Descartes famous statement "I think, therefore I am." (The mind/body duality that this statement sets up isn't as important to existential thought then the duality between subjective/reality). Also, existentialism can be traced back to nihilism, in fact one could say that it is a response to it. In short, nihilism's basic premise is that life/reality has no intrinsic meaning or value, existentialists agree with this but add that the subjective meaning is important in life, this sentiment is reflected in existential literature in that that human will usually conquers existential despair through the act of creating something or taking hold of one's life. Lastly, existentialism is related to determinism, asserting that human's possess free will (in the existentialist world this is known as "abandonment"). A simple way to understand this is that deterministic philosophy looks at the objective factors in the decision-making process, whereas existentialists (as stated earlier) look at the subjective act of choice, and thus state that man is responsible for his actions.

Sartre's phenomenology centers around existentialism, but includes a lot more than what I've mentioned earlier; separating consciousness into being-for-itself and being-in-itself, and also delving into psychoanalysis of interpersonal relations (separating the being-for-others, when you become the object of someone else's consciousness, and "the Other," which represents an other conscious being); another quote he is famous for regarding his phenomenology, from his play 'No Exit,' is that "hell is other people," embodying the existential struggle that occurs during interpersonal contact.

Outside of this Sartre is known for his political philosophy. He was a member of the radical left and a Marxist theorist, but declared himself an anarchist. (Anarchism and feminism being political schools of thought that existentialism heavily influenced afterward.)

Hope this helped ;)

Answer 2

Jean-Paul Sartre was a key figure in existentialism, a philosophy that emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility. He believed that existence precedes essence, meaning that we define ourselves through our actions rather than having a predetermined essence or purpose. Sartre also famously argued that we are condemned to be free, highlighting the burden of responsibility that comes with our freedom to create our own meaning in life.