Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

Everything that exists is born for no reason, carries on living through weakness, and dies by accident

What I lacked [in La Nausee] was a sense of reality. I have changed since. I have slowly learned to experience reality.

Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself.

There is no love apart from the deeds of love; no potentiality of love other than that which is manifested in loving.

The individual's duty is to do what he wants to do, to think whatever he likes, to be accountable to no one but himself, to challenge every idea and every person.