Freedom

Existential philosophers take a deep interest in the meaning of freedom, and how an individual’s freedom relates to the limits that also come with existing. French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) summed up the existentialist perspective with the simple phrase “existence precedes essence”. In other words, existence comes first - just a blunt, unexplained fact. And then there is how we define our essence through our choices. From this view, there is no preordained purpose or value that defines us before we make choices to define ourselves. 

I find myself picturing this idea as staring at a giant blank canvas that is my life. There are definitely limits here: the canvas is only a certain size and shape, and I only have certain paints to choose from. But I also have such a vast, wide-open freedom to paint whatever I want with those paints. The canvas of my life has no preordained meaning. I create that meaning with each choice I make with my paint brush.

Sartre believed that this open-ended freedom causes incredible anxiety. After all, we are ourselves responsible for the very meaning of our lives with every choice we make. Terrifying! As a result, we often prefer to define ourselves with culturally provided norms rather than accept how much freedom we actually have.

Going back to the idea of the giant blank canvas, I think of how much less pressure there is when someone tells me what to paint, how to paint it, which colors to use, etc. My value then feels more connected with how good of a job I’m doing at following those directions.

By contrast, taking on the responsibility of making choices and defining myself through those choices involves taking on the same anxiety as an artist trying to figure out where to start painting, a musician trying to determine how to fill silence, or a writer staring at a blank page. But if I’m willing to step into that anxiety and responsibility, I also have the same room for creativity, for creating meaning through choice.

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