Existentialism is a humanism french lexistentialisme est un humanisme is a 1946 work by the philosopher jean paul sartre based on a lecture by the same name he gave at club maintenant in paris on 29 october 1945 in early translations existentialism and humanism was the title used in the united kingdom the work was originally published in . Existentialism is a humanism jean paul sartre 19451 my purpose here is to defend existentialism against several reproaches that have been laid against it existentialism has been criticised for inviting people to remain in a quietism of despair to fall back into a the middle class luxury of a merely contemplative philosophy. Existentialism is nothing else but an attempt to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position its intention is not in the least that of plunging men into despair and if by despair one means as the christians do any attitude of unbelief the despair of the existentialists is something different. In existentialism is a humanism jean paul sartre 1905 1980 presents an accessible description of existentialism a key idea of existentialism and of the human condition is that existence precedes essence the essence of something is its meaning its intended purpose a paper cutter is made to cut paper that is its point. Sartre answers the title question of his lecture existentialism is a humanism grounded in the shared human condition humanist not because it worships humans but because it is designed for humans and recognizes that everyone is constantly trying to become the people they imagine they should be