Simone de Beauvoir Quotes

The individual is defined only by his relationship to the world and to other individuals; he exists only by transcending himself, and his freedom can be achieved only through the freedom of others. He justifies his existence by a movement which, like freedom, springs from his heart but which leads outside of himself.

Jean-Paul Sartre, the existentialist philosopher who celebrated the anguish of decision as a hallmark of responsibility, has no place in Silicon Valley.

At which point should we let go and do what we want to do, and when should we submit to rules? Coming to terms with our true natures and who we really are has always been a fascination to humans. I know it fascinates me.

Philosophically I am, or at least have been, a follower of Sartre. I am very interested in the choices we make, or don't make, in life-defining matters. That moment of 'angst' and its consequences can be such a cruel thing.

Only by living absurdly is it possible to break out of this infinite absurdity.

True freedom is the capacity for acting according to one's true character, to be altogether one's self, to be self-determined and not subject to outside coercion.

The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases.

I just do my thing, what I feel.

I'm a card-carrying existentialist.

What I try to pass on in my work for everyone is that we can be who we want.

Let LeBron be LeBron.

Where there is no inner freedom, there is no life.

I live as I choose or I will not live at all.

As for myself: I had come to the conclusion that there was nothing sacred about myself or about any human being, that we were all machines, doomed to collide and collide and collide.

Man's existence precedes his essence

Where am I? Who am I? How did I come to be here? What is this thing called the world? How did I come into the world? Why was I not consulted? And If I am compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I want to see him.

Man exists, turns up, appears on the scene and only afterwards, defines himself

I had discovered that a person does not have to be this or be that or be anything, not even oneself. One is free.

It isn't that we do what we want. It's that we're allowed to want at all.

Freedom and constraint are two aspects of the same necessity, the necessity of being the man you are and not another. You are free to be that man, but not another.

I hope one day I will be able to be completely myself. Maybe I'll be wilder.

Be unfashionable. Take risks.

Oh, Mona, we're all damned fools! Some of us just have more fun with it than others. Loosen up, dear! Don't be so afraid to cry . . . or laugh, for that matter. Laugh all you want and cry all you want and whistle at pretty men in the street and to hell with anybody who thinks you're a damned fool!

Choice. It's the word that allows yes and the word that makes no possible. It's the word that puts the free in freedom and takes obligation out of the mix. It's the word upon which adventure, exhilaration, and authenticity depend. It's the word that the cocoon whispers to the caterpillar.

I don't need nobody tryin' to make me over -- I just wanna live simple and free.