01The Hidden Story
Imagine arguing that a knife has a purpose before it even exists, since someone designs it to cut, but a person has no such built-in purpose at all.
That contrast is exactly how Jean-Paul Sartre explained his idea.
A manufactured object, he pointed out, is designed with its essence, its purpose, decided before it is even made. A knife is built to cut; that is its essence, fixed in advance.
Human beings, Sartre argued, work the opposite way. We simply exist first, thrown into the world with no built-in blueprint, and only through the choices we make over a lifetime do we gradually define what we are.
Who Was Jean-Paul Sartre?
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher and writer, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century existentialist philosophy.
He articulated 'existence precedes essence' most clearly in his 1946 lecture 'Existentialism Is a Humanism,' responding to critics who accused existentialism of being pessimistic or nihilistic.
The idea places enormous responsibility on the individual: since there is no predetermined human nature, each person is entirely responsible for defining themselves through their own choices.
How the Idea Spread
Sartre's lecture was delivered partly to defend existentialism against accusations that it encouraged despair or moral indifference, and the phrase became the clearest, most repeatable summary of his defense.
As existentialism gained popularity throughout postwar Europe and later in universities worldwide, the phrase became a standard shorthand taught in introductory philosophy courses.
Over time, the underlying idea, that identity is built rather than given, also influenced psychology, self-help culture, and broader conversations about personal reinvention and self-determination.
- 1943 Sartre lays groundwork for the idea in 'Being and Nothingness.'
- 1946 Sartre clearly states the phrase in 'Existentialism Is a Humanism.'
- Postwar Academia The phrase becomes a staple of philosophy education.
- Modern Culture The underlying idea influences psychology and self-help thinking.
