Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, and literary critic. He was a central figure of existentialism and of the intellectual life of the twentieth century, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, which he declined.

Early Life and Education

Sartre was born in 1905 in Paris, the son of a naval officer who died when he was an infant. He was raised by his mother and his grandparents.

He studied at the École Normale Supérieure and at the Sorbonne. He was first in his class in the agrégation examination, and Simone de Beauvoir was second.

He taught philosophy in provincial lycées and travelled in Europe. He studied in Berlin and was influenced by the phenomenology of Husserl and of Heidegger.

Being and Nothingness

Being and Nothingness, published in 1943, is his major philosophical work. It develops the theory of consciousness and of freedom.

He distinguished being-in-itself, the being of objects, from being-for-itself, the being of consciousness. Consciousness is characterised by nothingness and by the capacity to negate.

He argued that human beings are condemned to be free and that they are responsible for their choices. The doctrine of radical freedom is the foundation of his ethics.

The Plays and the Novels

Sartre wrote a number of plays that illustrate his philosophical ideas. The Flies is a reinterpretation of the Electra myth, and No Exit presents the famous line that hell is other people.

The Roads to Freedom is a trilogy of novels that describes the lives of several characters during the Second World War. The work is concerned with the themes of freedom and of commitment.

Nausea, published in 1938, is a novel about the experience of absurdity and of existence. It is one of the founding works of existentialist literature.

Political Engagement

Sartre was a committed political writer and a critic of colonialism and of the bourgeoisie. He was a supporter of the Algerian independence movement.

He was associated with the communist movement, though he never joined the party. He criticised the Soviet invasion of Hungary and of Czechoslovakia.

He broke with Camus over the question of revolutionary violence. The quarrel divided the French intellectual left and remains a subject of debate.

Later Life and Death

Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 but declined it on the grounds that a writer should not become an institution. He continued to write and to speak on public issues.

His health declined, and he lost his sight. He was cared for by Simone de Beauvoir and by his adopted daughter.

He died in 1980 in Paris, and his funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people. He was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery.

Legacy

Sartre is regarded as the leading figure of existentialism and as one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. His work shaped the literature and the politics of the post-war period.

His philosophy of freedom and of responsibility remains central to the existentialist tradition. His plays and novels are widely performed and read.

He is remembered for his intellectual courage and for his political engagement. His work continues to be studied and to be debated.

The Phenomenological Work

Sartre studied the phenomenology of Husserl and wrote a series of studies of the imagination and of the emotions. The Imagination and The Psychology of Imagination treat the nature of the image.

The Transcendence of the Ego argues that the ego is not a inhabitant of consciousness but an object in the world. The essay influenced the development of the phenomenological movement.

He wrote on the emotions and on the imagination throughout his career. The early works prepared the way for Being and Nothingness.

The Ethics and the Notebooks

Sartre worked on an ethics that would follow from the ontology of Being and Nothingness. The Notebooks for an Ethics were left unpublished in his lifetime.

He argued that freedom is the foundation of value and that the choice of one's own freedom implies the choice of the freedom of others. The position is a form of humanism.

He later attempted to integrate his existentialism with Marxism. The Critique of Dialectical Reason is an ambitious attempt to reconcile the two traditions.

The Critique of Dialectical Reason

The Critique, published in 1960, is a study of the relation between individual action and social structures. Sartre argued that the structures of society are the product of human action and are therefore historical.

He introduced the concepts of the practico-inert and of the group in fusion. The analysis is dense and difficult and has been less influential than his earlier work.

He worked on a second volume, which was published posthumously. The project was never completed.

The Biographies

Sartre wrote a series of biographical studies, including works on Baudelaire, on Genet, and on Flaubert. The Family Idiot is a massive study of Flaubert and of the relation between the individual and history.

The biographies combine psychoanalysis with existentialist and Marxist analysis. They are an important part of his output.

The study of Flaubert is regarded as one of his most ambitious works. It is an attempt to understand a person through the totality of his situation.

The Public Intellectual

Sartre was one of the most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century. He signed petitions, wrote articles, and took part in demonstrations.

He chaired the Russell Tribunal on the Vietnam War. He was active in the events of May 1968 and in the causes of the left.

He was criticised for his support of the Soviet Union and for his silence on certain issues. His political position evolved over the course of his life.

He was a symbol of the committed intellectual and of the responsibility of the writer. His life and his work were inseparable.

See also

• Existentialism
• Being and Nothingness