If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
All human actions are equivalent... and all are on principle doomed to failure.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that all human efforts are similar and ultimately destined to fail.
Sartre's assertion reflects a philosophical nihilism, proposing that regardless of the intentions or efforts behind human actions, they are fundamentally equal in their outcomes, leading to inevitable failure. This perspective challenges the value of human endeavors and suggests a deterministic view of existence, questioning the meaning and purpose behind striving for success or fulfillment.
Themes
Human ActionsFailurePhilosophyExistenceNihilism
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a philosophical discussion about the nature of human efforts.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes βAll I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
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If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
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A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
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