Is Sartre exaggerating the extent to which people can define themselves when he says “existence precedes essence”?
Are people wholly responsible for the kind of persons they become? What do you make of Hospers’ psychoanalytic view that our actions are beyond our control due to our unconscious mind?
Which seems more likely to you: that your path in life is determined before you were born, or that you are born and then you determine how your life will go? Why? Is there a middle ground on this issue?
What is your reaction to Sartre’s perspective on freedom? Do you find his view liberating and inspiring, or do you think it is disheartening and forlorn?