Here. Funny story, I tried listening to "Being in Time" by Heidegger, but the way he writes is somehow worse to listen to than read. My brain kept glazing over.
I Iiked the way you read this. The way you unpacked Sartre's phraseology -- by stressing certain words or syllables -- showed that you understood what you'd read and were attempting to get the Iistener to understand it as weII.
This is so helpful, I am so glad I found your video. I do not have dyslexia but struggle with reading comprehension especially when trying to read something so long on a computer screen and not in an actual textbook. I listened to this as I read along and it was perfect. Thanks!
Thank you very much for this reading, I found the slight Canadian accent very familiar and easy to follow (also being a Canadian.) I hope you continue uploading more audiobooks, your channel is fantastic 👍
It's funny that while I have been exposed to existentialism for nearly 50 years, I have found truth in the works of Sartre, even if I had to disagree with some of his tenets, but in having listened to this book, I have come realize that I have understood existentialism all along and it was only in the last few minutes of the book that I realized that I have agreed with Sartre all along. We simply express our beliefs in different terms that actually are conceptually the same.
Of Which he clearly states there are no excuses which are the primary tenants of existential philosophy that form its principles within its doctrinal system. Hilarious. Maybe you shouldn't express your beliefs.
Yes, "Existentialism is a humanism" - cemented Sartre in my mind as a great thinker. It's probably due to me rather than him, that I never had an "aha" moment before from reading him. (Albeit a lame effort from me) He is so clear and forthcoming in this address - particularly in his argument that freedom is the foundation of all values.
When you go to sleep at night and dream, a dream and the dream, feel so solidly real But then you wake up and realize it was just a dream. The world we live in is just another layer of a dream.
“Yes, everything’s allowed, but let me lay down this basis for morality.” Idk if I can agree with that. It is easily contemptible by anyone smart or dumb enough to not play by the rule. Humans can easily agree it isn’t good to kill without cause (which itself is an issue), but what about moral issues that we are too stupid to understand?
Yes, "Existentialism is a humanism" - cemented Sartre in my mind as a great thinker. It's probably due to me rather than him, that I never had an "aha" moment before from reading him. (Albeit a lame effort from me) He is so clear and forthcoming in this address - particularly in his argument that freedom is the foundation of all values.
In my opinion, human nature includes some actions based on cause and effect, but the reason for this is the existence of matter in natural laws or laws, and the value given to matter, the existence of man for a reason and his continued existence in terms of his position, I think here also reveals the effect between substances. talks about the importance of the result relationship
Perhaps you shouldn't dismiss ideas outright because they contradict religious dogma. Maybe the idea of having a religious 'starting point' is a problem in the first place. You may be interested in reading Kierkegaard. He puts forward a Christian version of existentialism.
@@echobook8513Oh, that's next on my list actually! The question of how to balance reason and faith is an interesting one, and I do sympathize with Kierkegaard's analysis of the story of Abraham on the mount.
Existentialism could still fit in somewhat with the notion that humans have some things evolutionarily 'hardwired', so-to-speak. It seems as though we would have to abandon the 'absolute and unfettered freedom' that Sartre speaks of, but we can keep some of the ideas regarding our choices to act or refrain from acting on impulses being our own, and the idea that we can change ourselves by making conscious choices in changing the way that we behave. I do think you bring up a very good point. It would be interesting to see how different people bring those two conflicting ideas together to form a coherent view.
Fairly recent neuroscience debunks the notion that we make rational choices at all. The rational part of the brain makes up a story that we made a choice some time after the actual choice has been made by the unconscious brain. Although I think Sartre's argument is mostly good, I don't agree that we are free to choose- we merely act as if we are free. We have will, but it isn't free.
@@lambd01d not only that. How can we reconcile Sartre's notion of freedom when we have medical studies proving that even what we eat can affect our mood enough to cause medical conditions like depression. By changing our gut bacteria we can literally change how we think.
@@alexandraquijada2329i think that’s the difference starting from objectivity or subjectivity. Whether I am objectively free or not, I DO feel free. My every experience tells me I am free. This freedom is an essential aspect of human activity.
5:32 A strictly philosophical view of the power of choice I feel is farcical. All men exist in history. All humans exist in nature and science. And all of us are formed by history and science. Choice must be measured not just with a philosopher, but with an anthropologist, a psychiatrist, a political scientist, an economic mathematician, a journalist, and a doctor for every organ in your body. To exercise the illusions and realities of choice as somehow "pure" is to treat life like a video game where we can all play with the same starting point. Simply put: we do not all start with the same options, abilities, luxuries, or limitations.
I'm really glad you enjoy it! With regards to downloading the audio, I'd suggest searching for "youtube to mp3," or something similar on your favourite internet search engine. Clipconverter[DOT]cc and ytmp3[DOT]cc are two examples of sites that I've had success with in the past. Just paste the video url, and it will convert it to a format of your choice. Just be very aware of fake download links, as sometimes people create download buttons that look legit, but which download bloatware or viruses onto your computer. I'd highly suggest downloading an adblocker and antivirus before downloading anything, just in case. If you don't feel comfortable downloading from websites like that, then dm me and I can see what I can do to help.
Your actions define who you are, not your words or opinions of yourself. In Fortnite terms: Imagine a dude flexin to his fam that he's the GOAT, but he be getting Ls every game. He's high-key cappin to hype himself up. It's only once he starts racking up Ws that he can deadass say he's the GOAT.
Sartre made a mistake by giving this lecture. He stated his position in simple terms so that everyone could understand him - unlike the opaque convoluted language of Being and Nothingness. It was a mistake because without the jargon, it’s obvious that his existentialism is utter nonsense.
@@echobook8513 Sartre’s existentialism ultimately boils down to this: that there is no God, and this it follows that people were not created with any purpose in mind. Therefore, human life has no meaning at all except such meaning that a person might give it, himself. So far, I agree with him. This is basically what Nietzsche argued. But Sartre goes further. He insists that, at least for man, existence precedes essence, that man has no nature at all and is therefore completely free to choose his own way. At first, Man is nothing at all. He merely exists. He has no essence. He will become what he chooses to become by he exercise of free will. And man cannot help but choose; he is condemned to be free. Indeed, Sartre’s radical insistence on free will is the entire point of his philosophy. Sartre argues that if God does not exist, then Man must choose his own path based on his own freely chosen values and that the only thing that matters is that he live authentically, in accordance with his own freely chosen values. This is where I cannot follow Sartre. Merely because there is no God, it does not follow that there is no such thing as human nature. Humans are animals - we are mammals, we are primates - and as such, we are genetically programmed to behave in certain ways. Further, our environments, especially in early childhood, can affect the development of our brains and thus influence our behavior profoundly. Like all animals, we are born with certain instincts and we act in accordance with our instincts. While there is some variation among individual humans, we are none of us “free” to choose our own values or to act however we choose. Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and Freud - all atheists - rejected the very notion of “free will”, and with good reason. They sensibly recognized and insisted upon Man’s animal nature. (Schopenhauer wrote a very good essay debunking “free will”. Nietzsche repeatedly cast scorn on the notion of “free will”.) Just because our values are not prescribed for us by God, it doesn’t follow that we are free to choose our own values. Clearly, we are not. Can you choose what you like and don’t like? What you admire and what you despise? I think not. A caring, sensitive person cannot choose to be a psychopath and vice versa. A person who is unmusical cannot choose to value music. A musical person cannot help but to value music. In other words, our values reflect who we are, and who we are is determined by our genetic endowment and our education. Sartre rejects the notion of the unconscious mind. Modern science has proven conclusively that our decision making process is actually unconscious. We do not control our own thoughts - our thoughts, rather, control us. Thoughts just appear in our conscious minds. Our reason is the servant -not the masters - of our emotions and our instincts and our values. We act in accordance with our character. Our character determines how we respond to any given set of circumstances. If you know a man well enough, you can usually predict how he will respond in any given situation. Sartre denies all this. He insists that a coward is free to act bravely. He rejects the notion that people can act in accord with an overwhelming passion. This is contrary to all human experience. There’s a reason why the criminal law recognizes what are commonly called “crimes of passion”. Some people are better able to restrain their violent impulses than others. This ability depends on how well their prefrontal cortex functions. Neurologists have discovered a direct correlation between pre-frontal cortex function and impulse control. Ultimately, all human thought, emotions and behavior can be understood in terms of brain function. The very notion of moral responsibility, which is based on the myth of free will, should be abandoned. Free will seems to originate with Augustine and it is the basis of the very notion of sin, disobedience to the Will of God. But even Augustine admitted that Man left to his own devices was bound to sin and required Gods help not to sin. Free will is just the theologians way to explain why people sin without blaming God for it - after all, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfect and He created humans. So if God created Man, isn’t God responsible for Man’s sins? No, say the theologians. God endowed Man with “free will” and therefore if Man disobeys God, then it’s his own fault, not God’s fault. I think it’s ironic that Sartre denies the existence of God but still retains the essential religious notion of “free will” and uses it to hold people morally responsible for their actions.
@@stevenyourke7901 Your critique of Sartre seems to point out a contradiction, but I am not completely sure how you got there. I need to think about this. Therefore, I plan to return. In the mean time, thank you for kicking up some thought.
"Existentialism is a humanism" - cemented Sartre in my mind as a great thinker. It's probably due to me rather than him, that I never had an "aha" moment before from reading him. (Albeit a lame effort from me) He is so clear and forthcoming in this address - particularly in his argument that freedom is the foundation of all values.