ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

situation (sartre)

Imagine you are playing with your friends, and suddenly your mom calls you to come inside the house. You have to leave your friends and go inside because your mom told you to do so.

Now, let's imagine another situation. You are playing with your friends, but this time you choose to stay with them instead of going inside when your mom calls. You make that choice because you want to keep having fun with your friends and you don't want to stop.

This decision of choosing to stay or leave is what we call a situation in philosophy. A situation is a moment in our lives where we face a choice, and that choice can change the course of our lives.

Jean-Paul Sartre was a famous philosopher who believed that we are free to choose what we want to do in any situation. He said that we are not controlled by anyone or anything else, and it is up to us to decide what we want to do.

For example, if you are bullied at school, you can choose to ignore it or stand up for yourself. If you don't like the job you have, you can choose to quit and find a new one. According to Sartre, we have the power to make our own decisions and shape our own lives.

However, with this power comes responsibility. Sartre believed that we are responsible for our own actions and cannot blame anyone else. So, if you make a bad decision, you have to deal with the consequences.

In summary, Sartre's idea of situation is that we face moments in our lives where we have a choice, and that choice determines our future. We are free to make any choice we want, but we must also take responsibility for our actions.