Evaluating Lives

Evaluating Lives

Living signifies the existence of life. Besides, life is the sole differentiation factor between dead and inorganic matter with a living organism. While there are many philosophical descriptions of life, Jean-Paul Aymard Sartre coins a landmark explanation of life that distinguishes him from other scholars. Sartre is a French-born scholar whose work covers a wide range of disciplines, including racism, free will, violence, and also feminism. One of the significant subjects Sartre endeavored to understand includes existence and its value. His great work revolves around the philosophized in existentialism.

In his concept of existentialism, Sartre delivers a presupposition that there exists no purpose in living. Not a single one derived outside the bearer of life himself. Sartre further states that humans neither have control of how they are born nor of the surroundings in which they are brought up. However, Sartre believed that in the course of one’s life, personal desires and decisions play an immense role in forging a person’s destiny and purpose of their existence.

In other words, Sartre asserts that human beings are free to structure their lives and form a meaning to attribute to it. Moreover, his belief points out that human beings have free will that operates free from the influences of external forces. Furthermore, according to his ideology, such foreign powers have no charge or role in the life of human beings. Thus, there are no supernatural powers that can configure, shape, and predetermine fate.

Moreover, his belief indicates that, as humans, we have full control of our fate. We can choose to think and do what we want.  Sartre’s ideology further states that, despite humans being free from gods’ control, the freedom they possess brings immeasurable anguish to them. Perhaps due to his view of the inexistence of gods. In other words, the reasons humans suffer is because of their freedom and possession of the power of the free will. Essentially, this means that, when humans decide on their own, more often than not, they make faltered choices, which in turn immerse them in pits of torture.

For instance, taking the life of the renown terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, the man believed in the power of violence and vengeance. Besides, Osama held it true that he had the supremacy to take humans’ lives without restraints. Although Osama subscribed to extremist Islamism, he didn’t abide by the exact guidelines as accorded in the holy books as he claimed to uphold. Therefore, Osama forms a vital reference to explain existentialism and free will.

Osama was the son of a millionaire constructor. Although he was brought up in a luxurious environment, he chose to leave all that he could have inherited and become a villain on the wanted list of the superpower army in the world by then. Perhaps it was his ideology of invoking fear and terror in the world and maybe to gain international recognition.

If God is the source of life, giving it to all as he pleases, then he and he alone carry the absolute power to take it away. However, Osama took it upon himself to wage war against fellow human beings in the name of revenge. Any faithful holding on to a higher power that respects life should also reflect on the same attributes as the deity he believes in.

Moreover, Osama, in his endeavors, made a personal choice to follow the path of sadism and war. As stated by Sartre, Osama was born and brought up like any other man, but he chose a path of bloodshed. He applied his free will to shape his destiny and give his life a purpose and a meaning. To him, his mission was to finance terrorism, orchestrate it, and also execute it with no regard for other humans.

Additionally, Osama had a choice to take a different path. Even after the heightened hunt for him, he could have surrendered and asked for mercy. However, his way was shaped already, not by an external existence, but rather by his own choices.  From Sartre’s point of view, Osama never lived well. He had the option to fight for what is right in society. Instead, he perpetrated terrorism leading to the loss of many innocent lives besides causing economic disturbances in many nations.  Although Sartre would agree, Osama had the free will to do whatever he wanted. Yet, by choosing to engage in socially unacceptable acts, he did not uphold the basics of humanism, ethics, and morals. Moreover, Sartre was a great promoter of good morals and condemned with the highest terms possible the acts of war.

In conclusion, Sartre was right by indicating that humans suffer on their accord. Their freedom lures them to indulge in operations that demote the essence of living. Besides, the mere act of shaping a destiny in a contrary ideology makes the whole purpose of existence mystified in an erroneous fallacy that negates life itself. Therefore, humans should strive to use their freedom positively for them to realize the pure joy of living.  Also, humans should understand the power bestowed in freedom and apply it appropriately.