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Sartre responds to his critics, who accuse existentialism of being pessimistic, by declaring that it is actually the most optimistic philosophy for humankind. He calls it optimistic in the sense that it demonstrates people’s control over their own lives and their ability to become what they would like to be. Whereas “people would prefer to be born a coward or be born a hero,” Sartre argues that, in fact, people make themselves into cowards or heroes, which is optimistic because it suggests that people can become what they would like to be (rather than their character and life course being determined by inherent characteristics at birth).
Optimism Quotes in Existentialism Is a Humanism
The Existentialism Is a Humanism quotes below are all either spoken by Optimism or refer to Optimism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Existentialism Is a Humanism
Quotes
It makes me wonder if what they are really annoyed about is not its pessimism, but rather its optimism. For when all is said and done, could it be that what frightens them about the doctrine that I shall try to present to you here is that it offers man the possibility of individual choice?
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People would prefer to be born a coward or be born a hero.
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Optimism Term Timeline in Existentialism Is a Humanism
The timeline below shows where the term Optimism appears in Existentialism Is a Humanism. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Existentialism Is a Humanism
...that “reality alone counts” and recapitulates his contention that existentialism’s critics are actually attacking its optimism rather than its pessimism. This is because existentialism blames people for their own moral shortcomings...
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...anything or rescue anyone from the human condition. He closes by reasserting that “existentialism is optimistic” and his critics act in bad faith, “confusing their own despair with ours.”
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