Hell is "No Exit"

The problem of moral evil (when bad things happen because of human actions) has been a long-standing philosophical debate. Responding to "Hell is Others?" (see Saturday, January 5, 2008) Anonymous said... "From what I remember from Existentialist studies, Jean Paul Sartre actually said "hell is other people," meaning that others make our lives a living hell. The reference is from the play "No Exit." I personally believe that Sartre is right. Hell is other people. People can make our lives a living hell. I don't believe it has anything to do with being self-centered or with the sins that you've mentioned. It has more to do with how people treat us."

In response, another Anonymous said... "Most of Sartre's plays are richly symbolic and serve as a means of conveying his philosophy. The best-known, Huis-clos (No Exit), contains the famous line in French, 'L'enfer, c'est les autres.' Literally in English it translates as 'Hell is others' or 'The hell is the others.' However, it is usually translated with the implied meaning, 'Hell is other people'."