The Burden of Freedom

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”1 To philosophers and fans of Hamlet, that is

a good question, and one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines, but for this essay I propose

that a better question would be: to be free, or not to be? While philosophers may differ

and disagree on freedom and free will, in this essay we’ll be looking at some of the ideas

of Jean Paul Sartre, particularly how he feels about free will and freedom, as well as

some counterarguments against his ideas.

Since the dawn of time religion has affected humans in hundreds of ways. Religion

has shaped the course of human history itself. Religion liberates people, as well as

imprisons them. It uplifts as well as tears down. Sarte feels that as far as religion goes, it

tends to give people the idea that we don’t have have individual free will, that the divine

creator has ultimate control over reality and the events that take place there; in some

cases, the outcome of one’s life being completely predetermined. This of course goes

directly against what Sartre believes in regards to free will, as you can see in the

following quote: “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.”2

Furthermore, Sartre doesn’t believe that atheists are completely correct in their

beliefs regarding free will either, because as the textbook puts it “There are also those

who, while denying the existence of a divine Creator, nevertheless believe that we each

possess an essential and universal human nature that precedes our actual historical

1
Shakespeare, William. “Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene III [O Mistress Mine, Where Are You Roaming?].”
Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 15 Apr. 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/hamlet-act-iii-scene-i-be-or-
not-be.
2
Chaffee, John. The Philosophers Way: a Text with Readings, Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas. Pearson,
2016. 217
 existence.”3 In other words, Sartre believes that we are completely and wholly free, with

nothing that predates our existence to determine what choices we make or actions we

take.

Diving deeper into these beliefs, Sartre believes that we are condemned to be free,

and that the lives we lead are solely that which we choose to live. While his ideas have

some merit, I have to disagree. I believe that as far as free will goes, I would have to

agree that we have the free will to choose most of the actions we make in life. I don’t

however agree that we are completely free, or as he puts it “condemned to be free.”

To illustrate this point, all you have to do is look at gender. While in the current

social landscape it is possible to choose freely which gender you are, each and every one

of us is born into a gender with a certain sex. It is ingrained in the DNA, the very code of

our genetic makeup. While individuals can choose to be a man or a woman, they cannot

choose to be male or female (without a surgery, but even at that point they will still be

genetically the sex they were born into). This in and of itself pokes holes into the his

argument.

To go further into this, his argument does little to explain how this theory can coexist

with our current understanding of DNA. This is of course likely due to the fact that the

double helix was only just first discovered in the year 1951,4 at which point Sartre had

already published most of his works and teachings.5

3
Chaffee, John. The Philosophers Way: a Text with Readings, Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas. Pearson,
2016. 216
4
“The Francis Crick Papers: The Discovery of the Double Helix, 1951-1953.” U.S. National Library of Medicine,
National Institutes of Health, profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/Views/Exhibit/narrative/doublehelix.html.
5
Desan, Wilfrid. “Jean-Paul Sartre.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Apr. 2019,
www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Paul-Sartre.
 It’s taken us decades to come as far as we have in terms of DNA research, which has lead

to great findings in terms of how the genetic code relates to personality, predispositions

for specific behaviors, and of course how our body grows. Had Sartre known this about

the fundamental code of humanity and how it is written in every cell of our body, I feel

that he would have something different to say about his idea that “existence precedes

essence.”6

One last thing I’d like to bring up that would seem to be in opposition to his ideas on

free will is the impact our environment has on us. From the moment we are born, we

come into the world screaming and crying. We had no choice to enter this world. After

birth, we have no will at all, let alone the freedom to act on it. We eat, we sleep, we grow,

we learn, and all the while, the actions of those around us are being ingrained in our

minds. We see how the people in this world interact with each other, giving us ideas of

how the world works and how one is supposed to act in this world. I couldn’t pinpoint

with precision when we first start developing free will, but it isn’t for some time after

birth. And even when we voice our childish opinions that we won’t eat those mushed

carrots, our free will is again subverted and we are forced to eat.

When we finally have the ability to choose freely for ourselves, our personality has

been altered to the point, that our decisions are are not completely our own. Often we do

things because others are expecting it, or there is some consequence, or even because

there is some genetic or environmental factor that nudges us to choose one thing over

6
Chaffee, John. The Philosophers Way: a Text with Readings, Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas. Pearson,
2016. 216
another. And while we have the choice to choose at that point, our actions are influenced

heavily by our past life experiences up to that point.

All in all, I feel that hardcore determinism and hardcore libertarianism are both

lacking in their explanations of freedom and free will. Determinism leaves no opportunity

for personal accountability and choice, and libertarianism leaves no room for

environmental and genetic influences in the decisions one makes. As in most things in

life, and as taught by the Buddha, the middle path, is often the one that holds the most

truth.
 Information Page

Porter Degen

Salt Lake Community College

Philosoophy 1000-407

The Burden of Freedom

Freedom and free will

948 words

4/29/19