Jean-Paul Sartre — Quote from What Is Literature?
“Commitment is an act, not a word.”
What Is Literature? (1947)
Concepts: praxis, agency, authenticity
Resonant Quotes
- “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their min...” — Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind Sartre's existentialist emphasis on commitment as concrete action directly complements Arendt's insight that moral ev...
- “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their min...” — Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind These quotes form a perfect dialectical pair about moral agency—Sartre demands active commitment while Arendt reveals...
- “Action, the only activity that goes on directly between men without the inter...” — Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition Sartre's insistence that commitment is act and Arendt's definition of action as direct human engagement both ground p...
- “Living an experience, a particular fate, is accepting it fully. Now, no one w...” — Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus Sartre's emphasis on commitment as lived action perfectly complements Camus's demand that absurd acceptance be active...
- “Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a standing in, not a falling...” — Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving Sartre's existentialist emphasis on commitment as embodied action perfectly echoes Fromm's rejection of love as passi...
- “How can man know himself? He is a thing dark and veiled. The true way that le...” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Schopenhauer as Educator Both philosophers assert that authentic selfhood emerges through concrete action rather than abstract contemplation, ...
- “Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” — Simone de Beauvoir, All Said and Done These existentialist partners share the conviction that authentic existence requires immediate concrete action rather...
- “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certain...” — Václav Havel, Disturbing the Peace Both quotes transcend mere verbal affirmation to locate authentic human engagement in lived action—Sartre's commitmen...