Jean-Paul Sartre: Key Concepts

Key Concepts

by Steven Churchill, Dr. Jack Reynolds

Most readers of Sartre focus only on the works written at the peak of his influence as a public intellectual in the 1940s, notably "Being and Nothingness". "Jean-Paul Key Concepts" aims to reassess Sartre and to introduce readers to the full breadth of his philosophy. Bringing together leading international scholars, the book examines concepts from across Sartre's career, from his initial views on the "inner life" of conscious experience, to his later conceptions of hope as the binding agent for a common humanity. The book will be invaluable to readers looking for a comprehensive assessment of Sartre's thinking - from his early influences to the development of his key concepts, to his legacy.

Genres: Philosophy

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

070114: this is not the best place to start reading sartre, though if you have ever doubted the range of his thought, the coherence, the criticism, both his own and many others on his work, well after brief bio here is a listing of the topics: phenomenology and imagination, understanding of the self, contingency and ego, intentionality and nausea, novelist and playwright, psychoanalysis and existential psychoanalysis, nothingness and negation, the look, bad faith, authenticity, knowledge, fundamental project, alienation, politics and engaged intellectual, theory of groups, second or dialectical ethics, ethics of reciprocity, legacy...

if you are unable to find interest in any of these topics, if you want overarching single author, if you are not ready to read both great and less essays, if you do not have some basic sartre knowledge... you are not ready to read this book. an adventure, this book has various critical approaches and many applications of familiar sartrean terms. took a while to read, not easy though not much terminology. reading his legacy hopes, there is something touching about the modesty on how he would like to be remembered, something quaint, and in the 33 years since his passing, it is encouraging how he is still discussed, still argued, and who knows if anyone can ask for more...?