--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is condemned to be free" description: "\"Man is condemned to be free\" — Jean-Paul Sartre" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png" --- # Man is condemned to be free ![“Man is condemned to be free” quote by Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png) > “Man is condemned to be free” [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings possess freedom and must bear responsibility for their choices, leading to existential angst. **In simple terms:** Freedom forces us to choose and be accountable. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility for your actions. Themes freedom responsibility existentialism Mood reflective serious Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal decisions - career paths - relationships - political activism Key Concepts absurdity authenticity choice Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront the anxiety of choice? - What does authentic living mean to you? A Different Perspective Freedom can be overwhelming and paralyzing for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Condemned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned/) [Condemned Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned-free-825585/) [Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man Condemned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-condemned-526671/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) ## Related quotes > [Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free-because-once-thrown-into-the-world-he-is-2/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We are alone, with no excuses. That is the idea I shall try to convey when I say that man is condemned to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/we-are-alone-with-no-excuses-that-is-the-idea-i-shall-try-to-convey/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free-because-once-thrown-into-the-world-he-is/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Man is condemned to be free. Condemned because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free-condemned-because-he-did-not-create-2/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [L'homme est condamne a' e" tre libre. Man is condemned to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/l-homme-est-condamne-a-e-tre-libre-man-is-condemned-to-be-free/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“we are abandoned in the world ... in the sense that we find ourselves suddenly alone and without help. Man is condemned to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satre/we-are-abandoned-in-the-world-in-the-sense-that-we-find-ourselves/) [Satre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satre/) > [A man may well be condemned, not for doing something, but for doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/a-man-may-well-be-condemned-not-for-doing-something-but-for-doing/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [Man, condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gate of darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-condemned-today-to-lose-his-dearest-tomorrow-himself-to-pass/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, in other respect is free; because, once thrown into the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free-condemned-because-he-did-not-create/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“He went up to his room like a man who has been condemned to death. His mind was completely empty, and he was quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-went-up-to-his-room-like-a-man-who-has-been-condemned-to-death-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Son, it is bad for a man to be condemned by his children, more so by the sons he cherishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/son-it-is-bad-for-a-man-to-be-condemned-by-his-children-more-so-by/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [It haunted him all night, while he slept alone; it was still there in the morning, when he swallowed his coffee and backed down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/it-haunted-him-all-night-while-he-slept-alone-it-was-still-there-in/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [What art thou Faustus, but a man condemned to die?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/what-art-thou-faustus-but-a-man-condemned-to-die/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [What do I care about Jupiter? Justice is a human issue, and I do not need a god to teach it to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/what-do-i-care-about-jupiter-justice-is-a-human-issue-and-i-do-not/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I am free: there is absolutely no more reason for living, all the ones I have tried have given way and I can’t imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-free-there-is-absolutely-no-more-reason-for-living-all-the-ones/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Jean-Paul Sartre > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“she has suddenly emptied herself of me, and all other consciousness in the world has also emptied itself of me. It seems funny. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/she-has-suddenly-emptied-herself-of-me-and-all-other-consciousness-in/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [ \[Stéphane Mallarmé\] theory of the hermetic is a mistake, but he can be only difficult to read when he has difficult things to say. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/st-phane-mallarm-theory-of-the-hermetic-is-a-mistake-but-he-can-be/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-can-always-choose-but-i-ought-to-know-that-if-i-do-not-choose-i-am/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/when-the-rich-wage-war-it-s-the-poor-who-die/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“She smiled. First I lost the memory of her eyes, then the memory of her long body. I kept her smile as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/she-smiled-first-i-lost-the-memory-of-her-eyes-then-the-memory-of-her/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Life is a useless passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/life-is-a-useless-passion/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The more one is absorbed in fighting evil, the less one is tempted to place the good in question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/the-more-one-is-absorbed-in-fighting-evil-the-less-one-is-tempted-to/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [This is what I thought: for the most banal even to become an adventure, you must (and this is enough) begin to recount it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/this-is-what-i-thought-for-the-most-banal-even-to-become-an-adventure/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I am free: there is absolutely no more reason for living, all the ones I have tried have given way and I can’t imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-free-there-is-absolutely-no-more-reason-for-living-all-the-ones/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“If I am not mistaken, if all the signs which have been amassed are precursors of a new overthrow in my life, well then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/if-i-am-not-mistaken-if-all-the-signs-which-have-been-amassed-are/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I want to leave, go to some place where I will be really in my own niche, where I will fit in. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-want-to-leave-go-to-some-place-where-i-will-be-really-in-my-own/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The best work is not what is most difficult for you; it is what you do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/the-best-work-is-not-what-is-most-difficult-for-you-it-is-what-you-do/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) [Explore all 728 Jean-Paul Sartre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More Condemned quotes > [Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/whatever-is-not-commonly-seen-is-condemned-as-alien/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [“And that’s the terrible myth of organized society. That everything that’s done through the established system is legal. And that word has a powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-m-kunstler/and-that-s-the-terrible-myth-of-organized-society-that-everything/) [William M. Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-m-kunstler/) > [I think 'The Condemned' has a great story. It's a lot more than a mindless action flick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-think-the-condemned-has-a-great-story-it-s-a-lot-more-than-a/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [At the end of our lives, we go before one judge, and the crimes you committed and man allowed you to walk free is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/at-the-end-of-our-lives-we-go-before-one-judge-and-the-crimes-you/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“It is said that men condemned to death are subject to sudden moments of elation; as if, like moths in the fire, their destruction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/it-is-said-that-men-condemned-to-death-are-subject-to-sudden-moments/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [In the early days of the Russian Revolution in 1917, I was completely in sympathy with it. I felt that it established a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiang-kai-shek/in-the-early-days-of-the-russian-revolution-in-1917-i-was-completely/) [Chiang Kai-shek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiang-kai-shek/) > [“Those who do not learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/those-who-do-not-learn-the-lessons-of-the-past-are-condemned-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Let us imagine a number of men in chains and all condemned to death, where some are killed each day in the sight of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-us-imagine-a-number-of-men-in-chains-and-all-condemned-to-death/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [He who cannot remember the past is condemned to remember the past. Or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/he-who-cannot-remember-the-past-is-condemned-to-remember-the-past-or/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [It disturbs me when Obama says in the State of the Union address that he wants to make dropping out of school at 18…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-miller/it-disturbs-me-when-obama-says-in-the-state-of-the-union-address-that/) [Ezra Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-miller/) > [“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free-because-once-thrown-into-the-world-he-is/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Jesus condemned no one except hypocrites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/jesus-condemned-no-one-except-hypocrites/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [“Release is not the same as liberation. You get out of jail, all right, but you never stop being condemned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/release-is-not-the-same-as-liberation-you-get-out-of-jail-all-right/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“So there was no excuse; nothing whatever the matter, except the sin for which human nature had condemned him to death; that he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/so-there-was-no-excuse-nothing-whatever-the-matter-except-the-sin-for/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Condemned by your people. Opened the second. Condemned by yourself. Opened the third. To see who you were. Opened the fourth. To see who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-n-holmberg/condemned-by-your-people-opened-the-second-condemned-by-yourself/) [Charlie N. Holmberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-n-holmberg/) [Browse all 109 Condemned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is condemned to be free", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Paul Sartre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Condemned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/jean-paul-sartre-220_condemned_man-is-condemned-to-be-free-3021926_3021926.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man is condemned to be free” — Jean-Paul Sartre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jean-Paul Sartre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man is condemned to be free", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/man-is-condemned-to-be-free/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```