Part I, Existentialism Is A Humanism

In this episode, I explain Sartre’s famous lecture, Existentialism Is A Humanism. I identify objections to existentialism from both communists and from Christians. The communists feared that the focus on subjectivity characteristic of existentialism would erode solidarity. The Christians feared that existentialism challenged the idea of absolute value. Sartre promoted nevertheless the idea that existence preceded essence, going against major metaphysical traditions. I also tie the idea that the world is absurd to the materialist philosophy of Darwinism.