Q0128
Jean-Paul Sartre
A verified English rendering from the curated archive.
English
In choosing himself, man chooses all men.
Source context
This English passage is associated with Existentialism Is a Humanism, within the tradition of Existentialism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.
A short reading
Read in the register of choice, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Jean-Paul Sartre's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?
How to cite this quotation
APA: Jean-Paul Sartre. (n.d.). In choosing himself, man chooses all men. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0128
MLA: Jean-Paul Sartre. “In choosing himself, man chooses all men..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0128.
Chicago: Jean-Paul Sartre. “In choosing himself, man chooses all men..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0128.