Philosophy

Freethinking Minds and Rebellious Jazz: The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre

Existentialism is both liberating and terrifying at the same time

Wei Xiang
The Apeiron Blog
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Questions such as, “Who am I?” and, “How should I live,” have been with us since the dawn of human civilization. We’ve collectively been asking and answering such questions since time immemorial. But never so much has the weight of such questions fallen squarely on our shoulders as human individuals as it does in our modern world.

Today, we’re utterly responsible for our choices, every single one of them. Every one of us knows this fact about our reality and, on some level, it terrifies each of us.

The 20th-Century Revolution of Thought

The late 19th century and early 20th century saw a profound upheaval in the world of philosophy, one which later rained down its pointed questions and relentless spirit, ushering in a new age of philosophy: the age of Existentialism.

The same time also saw an upsurge in a new form of music which corresponded to drastically shifting attitudes, to one of energy and freedom — and that music was jazz.

Jazz, with its unpredictable structure, created new ways of thinking and understanding…

Responses (19)

What are your thoughts?