The Great Philosophers' Opinions and "No Exit": From Socrates to Sartre Anonymous College

A major controversy in the philosophies of both the modern philosopher Sartre and the ancient philosopher Socrates is the argument regarding how life will unfold. Either every choice someone makes determines the next thing that may happen to that person, or his or her life is already laid out in front of him or her, so that his or her every move has been predetermined. In the play No Exit, written by Sartre, the three characters Garcin, Inez, and Estelle all end up in hell and must examine their past actions and how they lived to see why they have arrived at their current situation. Sartre and Socrates were very strict about their philosophies, and the characters in this drama both agree and disagree with said philosophies. The characters believe that every move has been laid out before them by the devil in order for them to torture each other (Sartre 2559). The philosophers, of course, would disagree with this conception, as the choices that someone makes will affect his or her life path. Although the characters may think otherwise, ultimately their actions define who they really are.

Sartre and Socrates would criticize Garcin, a journalist for a pacifist newspaper, for thinking that he is in hell by some fluke, not because of...