Overview
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was the public face of French existentialism, author of Being and Nothingness, plays, novels, and political essays. Captured in World War II, he later co-founded Les Temps modernes and refused the 1964 Nobel Prize. Engagement with Marxism and anti-colonial causes marked his later thought. Handbook dates: 1905–1980. Café philosophy and literary fame intertwined.
Main ideas
Existence precedes essence for humans: we are condemned to be free and responsible without excuses. Bad faith flees anguish by pretending to be a fixed thing. The look of the Other objectifies; conflict structures much interpersonal life. Nothingness is introduced by consciousness into being-in-itself. Literature can be a mode of freedom’s disclosure. Later Critique seeks dialectical reason in history and groups.
Major works
- Being and Nothingness
- Existentialism Is a Humanism
- Critique of Dialectical Reason
- Nausea
Legacy
Sartre defined mid-century existential culture worldwide and shaped phenomenology’s French reception. Feminists, postcolonial writers, and analytic critics all argue with him. Theater still stages No Exit’s gaze.
Themes in this archive
Freedom (2) · Choice (1) · Self (1) · Existence (1)
Quotes by theme
Jean-Paul Sartre on freedom · Jean-Paul Sartre on responsibility · Jean-Paul Sartre on self · Jean-Paul Sartre on choice