Existence precedes essence.

L'existence precede l'essence.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Philosophers

Jean-Paul Sartre

France's foremost existentialist, Sartre held that existence precedes essence: we are defined by our choices. Being and Nothingness systematized radical freedom. He declined the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature.

View this figure's profile

Jean-Paul Sartre's Other Quotes

Related Quotes