p. 461

I, for my part, do not conceive an act as having causes, and I consider myself satisfied when I have found in it not its 'factors' but the general themes which it organizes: for our decisions gather into new syntheses and on new occasions the leitmotif that governs our life

— Jean-Paul Sartre

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I, for my part, do not conceive an act as having causes, and I consider myself satisfied when I have found in it not its 'factors' but the general themes which it organizes: for our decisions gather into new syntheses and on new occasions the leitmotif that governs our life" in the context of "p. 461" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Jean-Paul Sartre" (Quotes, Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr (1952): Saint Genet, comédien et martyr (Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr) (1952), Gallimard) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jean-Paul Sartre

About Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre, was a French existentialist philosopher, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist, and critic. He had an enduring personal relationship with fellow philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.