Absurdidade, liberdade e formação humana em Sartre

Abstract

A key to the reading of research on the concept of absurdity in Sartre will not fail to show this notion as something that attaches itself to man in the twentieth century, as well as to the historical moment of contemporary thought dealing with a crumbling reality. Thus, the notion of absurdity is not reduced to a simple idea that emerged in the early works of this author, but as an ontological notion of the philosopher himself. Therefore, is it possible to consider a human formation from the concept of absurdity? This and other questions are some of the points that should guide this research. The goal of this study is to highlight the perspective of human development founded on the idea of absurdity and freedom in the philosophy of Sartre. Absurdity, freedom and human formation in Sartre brings forth a discussion of different ideas that somewhat intersect. Existence or consciousness is thought as an absurd category that reveals the unpredictability and the lack of justification of life. Existence is understood in a solitary instance in the contingent world. Existence is a subjective experience, therefore it is inexplicable. However, this idea does not fall into pessimism, on the contrary, man is not understood as a thing or objects found in the world, therefore he is not a substance. It follows that Man is master of his destiny and can overcome the circumstances that challenge him in the world. Even submitted by material conditions, man is a historical agent, making history as well as being changed by it. Due to this and against all kinds of domination man tries to associate himself to other men. Consequently, this experience is a way to implement freedom. It can be said that freedom is the condition of existence, but freedom must be earned, since man is part of a certain reality. However, it is essential to clarify that even being free man is challenged by resistance and deterministic pressures from the world, which he must face. For this reason, human freedom presents itself in a different status, because it shall be conquered historically by each individual. In this case, freedom is the "leap" that existence is able to "take" to overcome the absurdity of life, since life is unjustifiable; in view of this, such "jump", on the other hand, can also overcome all things that curtail human freedom. Man is indecipherable. So, it is conceived that it takes his commitment and responsibility for his existence, as well as of other men and the world. We conclude that this is only possible if man is empowered by a literary education, provided it is free, unprejudiced and engaged with the truth. Literature is an essential tool to the exercise of freedom, being in permanent revolution, since it is an action to be built by man. The intention is to expose the thought of this philosopher on the issue: Absurdity, freedom and human development as a major contribution to the evaluation of existence in the world, which requires from that existence, as a result, a responsible attitude.