Existentialism Is a Humanism book club questions

1. 1.

   Sartre says existence precedes essence. If you had to describe your own 'essence' — the core of who you are — how much of it feels chosen versus given?

2. 2.

   He argues that in choosing for yourself you choose for all of humanity. Does that claim feel true to you, or does it seem like an overreach?

3. 3.

   Anguish is the feeling that comes with full awareness of responsibility. When have you felt something like that, and what did you do with it?

4. 4.

   Sartre criticizes bad faith as moral failure. Are there forms of self-limitation or role acceptance that seem more like wisdom than self-deception?

5. 5.

   The lecture was originally an attempt to defend existentialism against charges of pessimism. After reading it, do you find existentialism pessimistic or liberating?

6. 6.

   Sartre says there is no human nature given in advance. Do you think contemporary biology — evolutionary psychology, genetics — challenges that claim?

7. 7.

   He argues that freedom is the only ground for all other values. Is freedom really the foundation of your moral commitments, or does it feel more like one value among many?

8. 8.

   Sartre was later dissatisfied with this lecture because it oversimplified. What do you think it leaves out or gets wrong about the actual experience of freedom?

9. 9.

   The claim that we are 'condemned to be free' frames freedom as a burden rather than a gift. Is that framing honest or is it itself a kind of bad faith?

10. 10.

    Sartre addresses Marxist critics who found existentialism too individualistic. Is the criticism fair? Can radical individual responsibility coexist with collective action?

11. 11.

    This text is one of the most widely read philosophical works of the 20th century. Why do you think it resonated so broadly? What did it give people that traditional philosophy wasn't?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.