Narrator: Imagine being a citizen in a country under hostile occupation. Every day presents a stark choice: collaborate and survive, remain passive and complicit, or resist and risk everything. This was the reality for philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. He wasn't just facing a political dilemma; he was confronting a fundamental question of human existence. In a world stripped of its familiar structures and moral certainties, what does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be responsible for one's choices when the consequences could be life or death? This extreme situation highlights a truth that applies to all of us, even in times of peace. We are all, in our own way, faced with the burden and the gift of creating our own meaning.

This profound challenge is the central focus of Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei's book, On Being and Becoming: An Existentialist Approach to Life. The book serves as a guide, not to provide easy answers, but to explore how the principles of existentialism can equip us to navigate the uncertainties of modern life, find purpose, and live with authenticity.

Narrator: Existentialism's most foundational, and perhaps most daunting, concept is that of radical freedom. The book explains that, unlike objects with a pre-defined purpose, human beings are born without an inherent essence or meaning. As Jean-Paul Sartre famously declared, "Man is condemned to be free." This condemnation isn't a punishment but a statement of fact: once thrown into the world, we are entirely responsible for what we become.

To illustrate this, Gosetti-Ferencei recounts Sartre's own experiences. During the Nazi occupation of France, Sartre was drafted, captured, and later joined the French Resistance. He witnessed firsthand a society where traditional moral guideposts had collapsed. In this environment, the choice to act—or not to act—was a heavy one. By writing and distributing anti-Nazi propaganda, Sartre was not just making a political statement; he was defining himself through his actions. He chose to create a value—resistance to tyranny—and live by it, accepting the immense personal risk. His wartime experience confirmed his belief that freedom is not the ability to do whatever one wants without consequence, but the inescapable reality that our choices, big and small, are what forge our identity and our world. We cannot appeal to a higher power or a pre-written destiny to justify our actions. The responsibility is ours alone.

Narrator: Existentialism did not emerge in a vacuum. It arose from a growing sense of alienation and meaninglessness in the modern world, a feeling crystallized by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The book delves into Nietzsche's famous parable of the madman from The Gay Science. In the story, a madman runs into a marketplace shouting, "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." The crowd, representing a society not yet ready to face the consequences, simply laughs at him.

The "death of God" is not a literal claim but a metaphor for the collapse of the traditional, religion-based moral and metaphysical foundations that had structured Western civilization for centuries. Without this external source of meaning, humanity is left in a state of profound uncertainty, what existentialists call "the absurd." The world no longer offers a built-in purpose or a clear set of rules. This is the starting point for existential inquiry. The book argues that this loss is not a cause for nihilistic despair but a call to action. If there is no pre-ordained meaning, then humanity is free—and obligated—to create its own values. Nietzsche's madman understood that this was a terrifying but also liberating prospect. We are the "murderers of all murderers" because we have killed the ultimate source of meaning, and now we must become gods ourselves, creating new values worthy of our existence.

Narrator: If we are free to create our own meaning, how do we do it? The existentialist answer, as explored in the book, is through authenticity. Authenticity is the act of living in accordance with one's freely chosen values, rather than conforming to external pressures or societal expectations. It is the opposite of what Søren Kierkegaard called "despair," which he defined as "not being who you are."

Gosetti-Ferencei uses Kierkegaard's analysis of the biblical story of Abraham to illustrate the radical nature of this commitment. In the story, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. From any rational or ethical standpoint, this command is monstrous. Yet, Abraham prepares to obey. Kierkegaard calls Abraham a "Knight of Faith" because he makes a "leap of faith" into the absurd. He suspends his rational and ethical judgment to commit to his subjective, personal relationship with God. This story is not presented as a model for blind obedience, but as a powerful metaphor for authentic living. An authentic choice often feels like a leap into the unknown, a commitment made not because it is logical or socially acceptable, but because it is true to one's innermost self. It requires moving beyond the comfort of the crowd and embracing the anxiety that comes with forging one's own path.

Narrator: The culmination of existential thought is not a set of doctrines but a practice: the art of living. Drawing from the later chapters of the book, the ultimate application of existentialism is to view one's life as a creative project. If there is no pre-written script, then we must become the authors, directors, and actors of our own existence. This idea challenges the passive notion of "finding oneself" as if our identity were a hidden object waiting to be discovered.

Instead, existentialism posits that we create ourselves through our choices and actions. Gosetti-Ferencei explores how this applies to everything from our careers to our relationships to how we engage with the world. For example, the book examines Sartre's concept of "bad faith," where we pretend we are not free by playing a role—like a waiter who acts too much like a waiter, becoming a caricature rather than a free individual choosing to perform a task. The antidote is to embrace our freedom and turn our existence into a work of art. This means making conscious choices, taking responsibility for our projects, and expressing our unique perspective on the world. It means transforming the raw, often chaotic material of life—its suffering, its joys, its absurdities—into a meaningful, coherent, and authentic whole, much as an artist transforms paint and canvas into a masterpiece.

Narrator: Ultimately, On Being and Becoming presents existentialism not as a philosophy of gloom and despair, but as one of radical empowerment. Its single most important takeaway is that the absence of inherent meaning is not a curse, but an invitation. It is the blank canvas upon which a meaningful life can be painted. The philosophy strips away the comforting illusions of destiny and external authority, leaving us standing face-to-face with our own absolute freedom and the profound responsibility that comes with it.

The challenge it leaves us with is both simple and monumental. If you were to accept that you are the sole creator of your life's meaning, that every choice and every action adds a brushstroke to the portrait of who you are, what would you choose to create next? The answer lies not in a book, but in the living of your life.