The Philosophy of Sartre

Playwright, novelist, political theorist, literary critic and philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80) remains an iconic figure. This book examines his philosophical ideas and methods. It is an introductory guide for the student who wishes to understand Sartre's philosophical argumentation. It reconstructs in plain language key instances of Sartre's philosophical reasoning at work and shows how certain questions arise for Sartre and what philosophical tools he uses to address those questions. Each chapter considers a range of issues in the Sartrean corpus including his conception of phenomenology, the question of self-identity, the Sartrean view of conscious beings, his understanding of the self, his theory of value, human action as both the originator and the outcome of social processes, dialectical reason, and his conception of artistic activity. Hatzimoysis uncovers the philosophical argumentation, identifies Sartre's most important philosophical ideas and addresses the arguments in which those ideas are employed. Readers are able to get a real understanding of Sartre's approach to the activity of philosophising and how his method favours certain types of philosophical analysis.

Review"A careful and insightful discussion of the phenomenology and ontology that underpin Sartre's existentialism and the methodological and metaphilosophical commitments these are rooted in. It serves as both an excellent introduction to these aspects of Sartre's thought and a valuable contribution to scholarly and philosophical discussion of Sartre." Jonathan Webber, Cardiff University

About the AuthorAnthony Hatzimoysis is assistant professor in Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Athens.