Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out

Opening Scene – Narrated by Host
The evening air had settled into a quiet stillness, the soft rustling of leaves outside mingling with the low hum of conversations within the café. Jack sat at the corner table, his fingers wrapped around his cup, staring into the darkening street outside. The world beyond the window seemed to pulse with life, yet there was a quiet distance in his gaze, as if something deeper was pulling his attention away.

Across from him, Jeeny sat with an open notebook in front of her, but her eyes were focused on Jack. The silence between them stretched, filled with an unspoken understanding that something important was waiting to be said.

Host: The air in the café was filled with the soft clink of cups and murmurs of nearby patrons, but within this small corner, there was only the presence of Jack and Jeeny, their conversation poised to reach a deeper, more existential space.

Character Descriptions
Jack
In his early 30s, Jack was a man who seemed always lost in thought. His grey eyes were sharp, searching the world around him for meaning, but there was a certain weariness in them, a questioning depth that suggested he had lived through something difficult. Jack wasn’t one to share much, preferring to keep his thoughts close, but his voice always carried an air of quiet intensity, as if he was searching for answers to the things he didn’t fully understand.

Jeeny
Late 20s, Jeeny had a presence that was both calming and attentive. Her dark eyes saw more than most people realized, often catching the small details that others missed. Her voice was soft yet assured, carrying a weight of understanding that others often sought. She was someone who had a deep awareness of the world’s complexities, but also a quiet acceptance that allowed her to navigate them with grace.

Host
The silent observer, always watching the subtle dynamics between the characters. The Host understood the space between words, the quiet moments when understanding had not yet fully formed. Inside the café, Jack and Jeeny were about to dive into something deeper—into the existential questions that often felt too big to confront.

Main Debate

Jeeny: She placed her notebook aside, her voice breaking the silence with quiet contemplation. “Jack, I’ve been thinking about this quote by Jean-Paul Sartre. He said, ‘Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance.’ What do you think about that?”

Jack: His gaze shifted from the window to Jeeny, his brow furrowing slightly. “It’s a pretty bleak way of looking at existence, isn’t it? If everything is born without reason and dies by chance, then what’s the point of anything we do? If we don’t have a reason for being here, then how do we find meaning?”

Jeeny: “It’s not necessarily bleak, though. Sartre’s idea challenges us to see that meaning isn’t something that’s handed to us. We create it through our actions, through how we live and how we respond to the absurdity of life. The fact that we’re born without reason, and that we die by chance, doesn’t mean life has no meaning. It means we have the freedom to create our own purpose.”

Jack: “But if we’re just prolonging ourselves out of weakness, doesn’t that make everything we do kind of… pointless? Like we’re just pushing against fate, trying to survive for survival’s sake, but not really moving toward anything?”

Jeeny: “That’s the paradox of Sartre’s philosophy. Existence precedes essence, he said. We’re thrown into the world without a predefined purpose, and then it’s up to us to create one. The weakness he’s referring to is the fact that we’re often driven by the need to survive, to get through each day, but it doesn’t mean we can’t live intentionally. The challenge is to find purpose in that struggle, not to avoid it.”

Host: The quiet hum of the café seemed to fade as Jeeny’s words began to sink in. Jack’s expression softened, his gaze turning inward as if he were grappling with the tension between the absurdity of life and the desire to find meaning in it.

Jack: “I guess that’s where I struggle. It feels like we’re all just doing things without ever knowing why. If everything is born without reason, how do we avoid falling into this cycle of just going through the motions, trying to fill the void?”

Jeeny: “I think the key is to embrace that freedom Sartre talks about. It’s not about knowing exactly what your purpose is right away. It’s about living with intention, about choosing to create meaning in the face of chaos. We don’t need to have everything figured out to make life worth living.”

Jack: “So, the answer isn’t in trying to avoid the absurdity of life. It’s about accepting it and still finding ways to live meaningfully?”

Jeeny: “Exactly. The acceptance of the randomness and uncertainty is what allows us to live fully. We don’t control how or when we’re born, or when we die, but we can control how we respond to our existence in between. It’s about making choices—choosing how to live with the awareness that everything is impermanent, that we don’t know the answers, but that we’re free to make meaning as we go.”

Climax and Reconciliation

Jack: He exhaled slowly, as if releasing a weight he hadn’t fully recognized. “I think I’ve been so focused on trying to make sense of everything that I forgot to just live in the moment. Maybe the point isn’t in finding some grand reason for our existence. Maybe the point is to live honestly, to create meaning even when it feels like there’s no inherent purpose.”

Jeeny: “Yes, exactly. Truth and freedom come from accepting the uncertainty. Living deeply in the face of that chaos is where we find meaning. We’re all thrown into this world without a script, but we can still choose to live with purpose. We may not control our birth or our death, but the time in between is ours to define.”

Jack: “I think I get it now. Meaning isn’t something that’s given to us. It’s something we have to create for ourselves, in the face of uncertainty and chaos.”

Host: The light in the café had softened now, the earlier tension between them replaced by a sense of calm understanding. Jack’s eyes had brightened, and Jeeny’s smile was gentle as she observed the shift in him.

Outside, the world continued on, but inside the café, something had changed. Jack now understood that the search for meaning didn’t require certainty—it required living authentically, creating purpose even when life didn’t provide it. In the end, it wasn’t about finding the answers—it was about embracing the questions and choosing how to live in the face of them.