In his defense of existentialism, Sartre first defines the unifying factor of existentialism (atheist as well as deist) as the belief that existence precedes essence. To illustrate his point, he presents the example of a paper knife, an object that has a set of qualities that allow it to fulfill its function. He states that it would not have been created without a particular purpose, its essence therefore precedes its existence. (Sartre) Sartre rejects this idea when it comes to humanity and states that humans in themselves have no nature and define themselves after birth. This stems from his atheistic worldview, in which rejection of a higher power leads him to accept the fact that humans are the "Creator", the first to exist, and that it is our duty to make sense to the rest of the world. Existentialist ideas are mostly closely related to the theory of free will. If existence precedes essence, that is, if there is no reason why we are here, this grants humans ultimate free will (and ultimate responsibility) to create themselves , the world and give it meaning. I disagree with Sartre's assertion that existence precedes essence, and furthermore that free will can still exist outside of these boundaries. My main problem with existentialism comes from Sartre's statement: "We mean that man first exists, meets himself, arises in the world – and then defines himself." (Sartre) He argues that human existence is prior to everything, that we were born and then gave meaning to everything. This argument seems to be opposed to biological science, from an evolutionary and creationist point of view. Evolutionary science supports the claim that humans are born randomly... middle of paper... simply allied as each person adds meaning to whatever he or she chooses to do or believe. Existentialism asserts that each person's life is in itself an example of how others should live, but that with each individual's own essence, such a standard is impossible to accept. In my opinion, much of Sartre's ideas stem from his atheism. In the absence of a divine creator, he concluded that humans themselves must be the beginning of all things. He rejected the idea that God could coincide with free will. Although existentialism raises some important and relevant points, its essence that existence precedes essence is not valid, nor does a different view eliminate the possibility of free will. Works Cited Satre, Jean Paul. “Existentialism is humanism.” April 30, 2011