Sartre and the Priority of Existence | Existentialism Is a Humanism, existence before essence, project, facticity | Philosophy Unit | Grades 11–12

Sartre and the Priority of Existence is a complete philosophy unit for grades 11–12 on the central arguments of Sartre’s 1945 lecture Existentialism Is a Humanism: a 32-page student book and a 20-page teacher guide with expected answers, timed lesson plans and marking guidance. Students reconstruct the contrast between a manufactured object and a human life without a predetermined purpose, examine Sartre’s idea of responsibility and develop their own objections. Sartre’s arguments appear as clearly labeled original paraphrases.

The first case puts a pair of scissors next to a student whose family wants her to enter a particular profession; a classmate claims both purposes are already fixed, and students work out where Sartre would reject the analogy. Later they compare Lea, who calls herself helpful but turns down three feasible chances to help, with Omar, who wants to help but is caring for a relative. They test “This affects only me” against a copied assignment and decide whether “Anyone can become anything if they want” or “People must take a position towards possibilities within their situation” fits Sartre better. Two practice assessments close the unit, one built on a career guide that misuses Sartre.

What's Included

• 32-page student book (A4 PDF): four five-page sections, each with explanation, case material, workshop, judgment page and extension page
• Four original case materials (M1–M4): scissors and a family career plan, Lea and Omar, a copied assignment and two competing readings of Sartre
• Concept page defining existence, essence, project and facticity, with a relationship task
• Two practice assessments in the student book, each with an original source text, a task page (25/40/25/10 marks) and a writing plan, plus a jigsaw, a portfolio page and a self-check
• 20-page teacher guide (A4 PDF): aims, sequence planning, differentiation, a minute-by-minute plan for each 90-minute lesson and expected reasoning for every A, B and C task
• Feedback and exit-diagnosis pages for each section, and marking guidance for both practice assessments on a 100-point scheme
• Editable Word text edition (.docx) with its own pagination
• Sources and an AI production note on the final teacher page

Four 90-Minute Lessons + Assessment

1. 1 · The manufactured object example — Student book pp. 3–7. A manufactured object’s purpose precedes its existence; Sartre denies that a human life has such a prior plan. Students reconstruct the scissors analogy, set out the argument as two premises and a conclusion, and debate whether social pressure alone refutes Sartre’s thesis.
2. 2 · Self-projection and action — Pp. 8–12. People define themselves through lived decisions, not self-descriptions. Students explain why Lea and Omar do not carry the same responsibility for the same visible outcome and build a matrix of intention, opportunity, decision and outcome.
3. 3 · Choosing and proposing an image of humanity — Pp. 13–17. Individual choice and responsibility for the values it embodies. Using a copied assignment, students explain Sartre’s responsibility argument, object to its scope and write a dialogue between private advantage and public justification.
4. 4 · Humanism without a fixed essence — Pp. 18–22. Sartre’s humanism is not praise of a finished ideal. Students judge two readings of Sartre, write a corrected 100-word introduction for younger students and discuss responsibility without blaming disadvantaged people for every limitation.
5. Concepts, practice assessments and jigsaw — Pp. 23–32. Concept page, two timed practice assessments with writing plans, a jigsaw, a portfolio page and a self-check.

Students Will Learn To

• Reconstruct sartre’s contrast between a manufactured object and human existence as a premise-conclusion argument
• Distinguish intention, available action and outcome when assessing responsibility in concrete cases
• Explain how sartre links individual choice to responsibility for values and formulate an objection to the scope of that claim
• Separate sartre’s position from the misreading that anyone can become anything, using the concept of facticity
• Write a reasoned judgment with a serious objection in a 90- or 135-minute practice assessment

Perfect For

• Grades 11–12 philosophy or ethics courses introducing existentialism
• Teachers who want students to reconstruct arguments before agreeing or disagreeing
• Classes that hear “existentialism means you can be anything” and need a careful correction
• Philosophy electives preparing for source-based essays with marked practice tasks
• UK, Australian and IB classes: roughly maps to A Level Philosophy (Years 12–13), Years 11–12 senior secondary philosophy and IB Diploma Philosophy

Why Teachers Choose This Unit

• Every lesson is timed: opening (0–10 min), exploration (10–30), analysis (30–55), experiment (55–75) and consolidation (75–90), so you can see where a 45-minute break falls.
• Each analysis task has two support levels. Support 1 starts with two marked details linked to a concept; Support 2 asks students to test an alternative explanation. The guide adds vocabulary cards, sectioned readings and oral rehearsal for students who need them.
• Marking guidance splits 100 points into reconstruction 25, analysis and comparison 40, judgment 25 and communication 10, with sub-criteria such as 'serious objection and response 5'. No particular opinion is required for full marks.
• The expected answers name the limits of each position. For the scissors case the guide notes that career expectations are social demands, not a blueprint of a person’s essence, while pressure can still restrict possibilities and deserves attention.
• All cases and assessment texts were written for this unit, so students meet them fresh and you can mark responses against the expected reasoning in the guide.

Save with the bundle: this unit is part of the Existentialism Bundle — all four philosophy units for $49.90 instead of $99.96. All 24 upper-secondary units are in Upper Secondary Complete for $149.90.

Created with AI assistance: ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Claude (Anthropic). Illustrations were generated with OpenAI image generation as discussion prompts; they are not photographs. Edited for classroom use before publication. Sources and the full AI note are on the final teacher guide page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which courses and exams does this unit fit?

It is written for grades 11–12 philosophy and ethics electives working on existentialism, freedom and responsibility. It roughly maps to A Level Philosophy (Years 12–13) in the UK, Years 11–12 senior secondary philosophy courses in Australia and IB Diploma Philosophy. There is no official endorsement by College Board/AP, IB, any UK exam board, ACARA or a state. The unit was originally developed for German upper-secondary courses; the English edition is a full parallel version.

How long does it take?

The teacher guide plans four 90-minute core lessons covering student book pages 3–22, one per section. Workshop and extension tasks can need extra time. The jigsaw takes 45–60 minutes, and each practice assessment takes 90 minutes, or 135 for extended advanced-course work. The guide says plainly that four double lessons do not cover every activity in the pack, so you choose which extensions and assessments to add.

Are Sartre’s original texts included?

No. The explanations are clearly labeled original paraphrases, not extracts from primary texts, and the English materials are not taken from a copyrighted published translation. The unit does not replace reading the full text. For close work on the original wording you need lawful access to an edition; the sources page lists the Yale edition of Existentialism Is a Humanism and a historical English translation of the lecture available online. Every case and assessment text is written for the unit, so the lessons run without extra readings.

How is it delivered?

Instant digital download after checkout: the 32-page student book and the 20-page teacher guide as A4 PDFs, plus an editable Word text edition. The PDFs print on US Letter if you select fit-to-page in the print dialog. For graded use, the guide recommends handing out only the source material and tasks and keeping the teacher guide separate. Published primary texts, translations and third-party recordings are not included.