system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does Sartre say that one chooses to be born?

I’m reading Existentialism and Human Emotions and the chapter “Freedom and Responsibility” is kind of confusing me. Sartre literally says that one, in a sense, chooses to be born but I don’t see what he means.
gpt
I think he means that, while you don't choose to exist, you choose to be who you are and you are responsible for that choice. Saying 'I didn't choose to be born.' is really just a failed attempt reject that responsibility.

The board metaphor that precedes that passage is a good example. You don't choose to be a board in the water, but you aren't just a board in the water. You can't just be born, even choosing to be passive is a choice that you make about who you are.