Existentialism Is a Humanism

Jean-Paul Sartre, Carol Macomber, Annie Cohen-Solal , Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre

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English

Yale University
01 June 2007

Literary studies: general; Philosophy; Phenomenology & Existentialism; Ethics & moral philosophy; Psychological theory & schools of thought

It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominent European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The published text of his lecture quickly became one of the bibles of existentialism and made Sartre an international celebrity.

The idea of freedom occupies the center of Sartre’s doctrine. Man, born into an empty, godless universe, is nothing to begin with. He creates his essence—his self, his being—through the choices he freely makes (“existence precedes essence”). Were it not for the contingency of his death, he would never end. Choosing to be this or that is to affirm the value of what we choose. In choosing, therefore, we commit not only ourselves but all of mankind.

This book presents a new English translation of

Sartre’s 1945 lecture

and his analysis of Camus’s The Stranger, along with a discussion of these works by acclaimed Sartre biographer Annie Cohen-Solal. This edition is a translation of the 1996 French edition, which includes Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre’s introduction and a Q&A with Sartre about his lecture.

By: Jean-Paul Sartre
Preface by: Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre, Arlette Elkaim-Sartre
Introduction by: Annie Cohen-Solal
Translated by: Carol Macomber
Imprint: Yale University
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: annotated edition
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 159g
ISBN: 9780300115468
ISBN 10: 0300115466
Pages: 108
Publication Date: 01 June 2007
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Existentialism Is a Humanism

When [Sartre] demands that we take responsibility for our lives, for the shape of our world, for the situation of the least favored--for others as well as ourselves--he is expressing decisively important conditions for learning to live as responsible citizens in this globalized world. This is no outmoded radicalism, but the message of one of the most challenging and contemporary philosophies. --Ronald Aronson, International Herald Tribune Like no one else, [Sartre] sought to understand exactly what it means to be responsible. --Ronald Aronson, International Herald Tribune In this small book, we discover Sartre as more than the cafe existentialist or the playboy. Here we see the committed philosopher working in public, with many of its evident hazards. Despite its flaws, in Existentialism is a Humanism, we have a model for a committed philosophy--one that is sorely needed today. --Nicholas Hengen, Rain Taxi To understand Jean-Paul Sartre is to understand something important about the present time. --Iris Murdoch