Jean-Paul Sartre

Lore & Background

Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris on 21 June 1905. His father died when he was two, and he was raised by his mother and grandfather, who introduced him to literature. He studied at the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed a deep interest in philosophy, influenced by thinkers like Henri Bergson, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger. Sartre's early academic career included teaching in several French lycées and engaging in provocative pranks and debates.

During World War II, Sartre was drafted, captured, and later released, after which he co-founded the resistance group Socialisme et Liberté. Though the group dissolved, he became an influential voice in occupied France, contributing to underground literature and writing plays like No Exit. After the war, he co-founded the journal Les Temps modernes and used his platform to advocate for political and social causes, supporting anti-colonial movements and opposing French policies in Algeria and U.S. intervention in Vietnam.

Sartre had an open relationship with prominent feminist and fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Together, they challenged cultural and social assumptions of their upbringings. The conflict between oppressive conformity (mauvaise foi) and an 'authentic' way of 'being' became the dominant theme of his early work, embodied in his principal philosophical work Being and Nothingness (1943).

Reader's Guide

Jean-Paul Sartre's significance lies in his role as a leading figure in existentialism and phenomenology, and his influence on sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. His philosophy, centered on concepts like 'bad faith' and authenticity, challenged individuals to confront their freedom and responsibility. Sartre's political engagement was marked by his support for anti-colonial movements, his condemnation of French policies in Algeria, and his opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam, aligning himself at various times with Marxism and Maoism. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, stating that a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution. His legacy endures through his extensive writings, his activism, and his influence on subsequent generations of thinkers. Despite declining health in his later years, Sartre remained committed to activism and intellectual debate until his death in 1980; his funeral drew 50,000 mourners.

Did You Know?

• Sartre was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it.
• He co-founded the resistance group Socialisme et Liberté during World War II.
• Sartre had an open relationship with fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.
• His principal philosophical work is Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943).

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Imagination is not an empirical or superadded power of consciousness, it is the whole of consciousness as it realizes its freedom." — Jean-Paul Sartre "Every age has its own poetry; in every age the circumstances of history choose a nation, a race, a class to take up the torch by creating situations that can be expressed or transcended only through poetry." — Jean-Paul Sartre "Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them." — Jean-Paul Sartre "Our responsibility is much greater than we might have supposed, because it involves all mankind." — Jean-Paul Sartre