Paradoxes of Transcendence

Abstract This chapter examines the literature concerning freedom and necessity. It argues that the line of thought that connects freedom and necessity forced the latter into pure transcendence. It suggests that the defining location of transcendence means that freedom does not exist in actuality and that humans find that what they call freedom is always hypothecated to the claims of the actual. This chapter analyses relevant passages from the works of several writers, including John Milton and Jean-Paul Sartre.