Philosophy 1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 43: Existence Precedes Essence, Simone De Beauvoir, Albert Camus
20 Mar 2016
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Short paper 6 due april 5th & 8th: introductory matters, general points. A big-picture philosophical movement of mid-20th century, post wwii. Most of the central igures were french. A philosophical movement with a very strong literary expression as well. Artiicial things have a nature, or an essence, which is the idea for them that their creators had when they made them. Such features include (lamp) the ability to shed light, electrical properties, moderate elevation, and a shade. Plants and animals similarly have a built in nature or essence. All these things are imprisoned in their natures, their essences. In that sense their essence, precede their existence; what they essentially are governs how they exist, what they can or cannot do. In human beings, by contrast, existence precedes essence. That is, they have no nature in which they are imprisoned. They make their own nature: non-existence of god. The non-existence of god is important to this picture.
