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And yet, what could be more disillusioned than such sayings as “Charity begins at home” or “Promote a rogue and he’ll sue you for damage, knock him down and he’ll do you homage”?
Sartre clearly thinks that all of the above people (communists, Catholics, and the common man) are disillusioned by criticizing existentialism. He further goes on saying that the disillusionment is a paradox.
These are the same people who think that Charity begins at home (but suggest otherwise). Let’s analyze this statement.
We have all come across this statement: 'Don’t preach before you practice.’ That means you can’t tell people that lying is morally wrong if you are a liar yourself. But, is lying an objective reality or a subjective truth? What’s true to you might be a lie to someone else, and vice versa.
If lying is indeed a subjective truth, then what you might find to be true can be a lie to someone else. Conversely, your preconceived notion of a lie can be a truth to someone else. Right?
When the reality (in this case, truth or lie) is always subjective, how can you tell if you are telling the truth or a lie, or preaching the right thing, or you have begun your charity at home? If you don’t even know what you’re practicing, how can you justify the fact that you’re preaching whatever you’re practicing?
This can also be said for what people consider a universal truth. For instance, we all know that apples are red. Apple being red is a universal truth or an objective reality. However, for colorblind people, the red apples are either dark green or black.
Now, a colorblind person will always say that apples are dark green or black if they are unaware of his/her medical condition. To him/her, apples being dark green or black is the universal truth. However, an observer, also unaware of the colorblind person’s medical condition, can claim that they are lying. **This means that there’s nothing as a truth or a lie. Even the objective truths can be subjective lies, based on individual experiences.
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This is also a major theme in David Hume’s view on Cause and Effect (Flawed Causality) in his Philosophy!
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