HERMENEUTICIZING RESPONSIBILITY IN FREEDOM AS LIMITATION TO FREEDOM IN JEAN-PAUL SARTRE’S EXISTENTIALISM

Abstract

The question of freedom and responsibility has been a perennial one among philosophers of different epochs. This question has to do with whether man is actually free or not. Jean-Paul Sartre, in respect to this problem holds that man is free because man first of all exists, encounters the world, surges up in the world and makes himself what he wants to be through his freedom. However, he made reference to responsibility that goes with freedom whereby man is accountable for his actions. It is therefore, the desire of this work to employ the method of hermeneutics to present responsibility as limitations to freedom in the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. This work therefore concludes that though man is free, there are a number of factors that pose as limitations to his freedom; law, moral reasoning, determinism, etc.