ABSTRACT
It is not uncommon to see Sartrean existentialism and Freudian psychoanalysis portrayed as incompatible and irreconcilable opposites. The Parisian existentialist and the Viennese psychoanalyst have often served as proxies in a larger philosophical debate involving freedom versus determinism. In this face-off, Sartre defends the absolute freedom of individuals to give meaning to their thoughts, feelings and actions in a world that lacks any other pre-established meaning or causes for human experience, while Freud stands for a mechanistic and deterministic view of human beings, who are seen as driven by unconscious instincts and drives and for whom the idea of free and rational human choice is merely an illusion.
