Existence Precedes Essence
Arguably, the most famous phrase associated with Sartre, indeed with existentialism as a whole, is that “existence precedes essence.” Sartre pursues this theme as a foundation of not just this text, but most others as well. Distilled to essentials, the phrase means that humans were not designed for any specific purpose and thus existence in itself is the defining core of their being. God has famously been compared to a watchmaker in the illustration that a person coming across a watch on deserted island would recognize that it had to have a maker and that this maker designed it for a specific purpose. But since no purpose for humankind has yet been detected comparable to objects like a watch—or a knife—it can be safely said that man exists without any particular essence of meaning.
Freedom and Dread
Because man exists without a singular purpose, he is free. Freedom is the natural state of the species and therefore any direction a human being takes is by definition encompassed within the existentialist concept of being human. This absolute freedom endows humans with a supremacy that is not shared with any other species because there are no limitations placed upon possibility. However, this absolute freedom is also exactly the thing that stimulates anxiety: if man was not designed by a creator with an essence for his existence intact, then what is the point of existence at all? This realization creates existential dread, trapping mankind between the rock of certain mortality and the hard place of explaining the point of mortality. It is within this trap that has religion was concocted as the primary means of escape.
I’m Not no Limburger!
In the classic dance track by New Wave pioneers The B-52s, the singer pursues lyrics which tell of everybody going to parties where they do all sixteen dances. She, however, can’t seem to attract a dance partner and suddenly voices existential dread by crying out “Why won’t you dance with me? I’m not no Limburger!” It’s an odd thing to say, of course, even on a dance floor, but it perfectly encapsulates one of the essential, overarching themes of this book, Sartre’s thinking, and existential philosophy. The freedom that comes with existence preceding essence means literally that the essence is whatever we make it to be. A narwhal is destined to like every other narwhal. An elm tree can never decide to become a rose bush.
A person is not relegated to be a “Limburger” though it is an option. If a person wants to define themselves as a “Limburger” they can do that because even the definition of what a Limburger might be is a constitutional aspect of being human: the invention of language. There is nothing capable of placing limitations upon what it means to be a human. This freedom, of course, has always been and continues to remain the very point of contention which stirs ideological conflict among factions of humanity. To be a Limburger among those opposed to the very idea of Limburger-ness is to face the potential of genocidal prejudice and discrimination.
