The Pragmatist and the Existentialist: A Comparative Study of Russellian Layman’s Philosophy and Sartrean Existential Humanism

This comparative study demonstrates that the construction of human meaning is not limited to academic philosophy but emerges directly from the realities of everyday life. Both Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential humanism and Russellian Layman’s Philosophy reject the belief that human existence is governed by predetermined destiny, fixed essence, or divine blueprint. Instead, both frameworks affirm that meaning is created through action, responsibility, and lived experience. While Sartre provides the philosophical language to explain human freedom through the principle that “existence precedes essence,” the ordinary individual practices this freedom intuitively through practical decision-making, adaptation, and resilience in daily life. This study also reveals that the apparent tension between Sartre’s critique of “bad faith” (mauvaise foi) and the layman’s reliance on common-sense coping mechanisms is not a contradiction but a difference in psychological emphasis. Sartre demands a direct confrontation with freedom and responsibility, whereas the layman often relies on practical emotional strategies to endure uncertainty, suffering, and social pressure. Expressions such as “it is what it is” function not merely as signs of passivity, but as pragmatic tools that help individuals preserve emotional stability and continue functioning within difficult circumstances. In this sense, layman’s pragmatism provides the everyday psychological framework that makes existential freedom livable in ordinary human experience. Ultimately, the convergence between Sartrean humanism and Russellian Layman’s Philosophy offers a powerful understanding of human resilience in an uncertain world. Both perspectives reject passivity and affirm that human dignity, identity, and meaning are formed through continuous action rather than inherited essence. Human beings are not passive victims of fate or spectators in an indifferent universe; they are active participants who shape their lives through choices, responsibilities, and responses to adversity. Meaning therefore becomes an ongoing process of self-creation, built gradually through the cumulative force of lived action.

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