Freedom Standing on the Path of Despair: Sartre's Response to Existence

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre

Soyo Existence Ethics (Existence is ethics itself)

Existence is not an object of deconstruction, but the result of love.

Sartre's ontology revolves around the path of despair. He says that humans must create themselves, and that life is an existence thrown into meaninglessness. However, Soyo asks, "Who threw that existence? Who is the great hand that existed before existence?"

The claim that humans must create meaning for themselves is no different from the claim that humans can deconstruct other humans. However, the result has always been the same: judgment and destruction of one another.

Soyo Existence Ethics declares:

"Humans are created beings. They are noble and sublime beings in and of themselves. Not an object of deconstruction, but a reason for preservation, the result of God's greatest love for humanity."

Who is the source of freedom? Is it a gift or an illusion?

Sartre says, "Freedom is the duty and responsibility that humans take upon themselves, and its weight is like a punishment." Soyo nods. "That's right, exactly. But now I ask, 'Where does that freedom come from?' "

If humans created freedom themselves, it would crumble like sand. However, within humans lies the light of liberty derived from the image of God—that is, the responsibility given as a gift. "That freedom came from the breath of the Creator. The autonomy to choose, the conscience that recognizes responsibility—none of these are human creations. They are the seeds of freedom imbued with God's providence."

If conscience is a choice, then humans are dust.

Soyo asks again, "Then is conscience also a choice? Did humans create even their conscience?" If so, humans are nothing but dust scattered by the wind. However, the one thing that proves humans are human is the fact that they exist within God's providence.

Conscience is not an emotion created by the self, but an ethical ability that flows from the essence of existence. Conscience can function because the image of God is within human existence.

"The punishment of freedom" is not a matter for human judgment.

Sartre called freedom a "punishment." But Soyo says, "That punishment is not a matter for humans to judge. This is because the origin and conclusion of freedom are entirely in God's hands. If humans are beings who create meaning for themselves, then that existence is ultimately nothing more than vanishing mist, passing shadows, and forgotten sighs. This is not a philosophical discussion of life, but the most miserable self-denigration, dehumanizing humans with soulless language.

Ethical standards are revealed through freedom.

Sartre denied objective ethics. He said, "Ethics arise from choice." However, So-yo declares, "Human existence proves objective ethics through freedom. The standard of ethics is the most precious essence that appears when the nobility and sublimity of human individuals are respected."

Pain is not proof of existence, but a passage to eternity.

Soyo acknowledges this. Pain is the proof of existence. Nihilism and anxiety are the shadows of human life. However, while Sartre demanded the creation of meaning within them, Soyo says, "Within that nihilism and anxiety, we gaze upon eternity. At that moment, humans become beings connected to God." While discovering the self, that existence has already dipped its feet into the flow of eternity.

Literature is melody, and existence is a vessel of light

Literature is the most beautiful melody of human life. The absurdity and corruption of existence are scars planted within humans. Still, all language and struggle that negate that negation are, in fact, a longing for truth and a unique quality of humans who believe in peace. Soyo says, "In this struggle, humans will inevitably prevail because truth is light. And this light is contained only in the vessel of human existence." Only God judges that vessel, and humans must continue to walk while containing that light. That is a good life, a life lived in truth.

Final declaration: Humans are beings that embrace the universe.

If the world were human-centered or reason-centered, human existence would be nothing more than a being racing toward destruction. But that is not the case. The world is small enough for humans to embrace and overflow, and humans are beings who embrace the entire universe." That being walks toward eternity. That is precisely why God created humans, and that is the basis for love. Humans simply need to immerse their bodies and minds in that love.

Soyo (逍遙) – Founder of Soyo Existence Ethics. Author of “The Silence of Existence,” “The Flame of Truth”

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