Jean-Paul Sartre(1905 — 1980)
Jean-Paul Sartre
France
8 min read
French philosopher, writer, and playwright (1905–1980), founder of existentialism. He explored human freedom, responsibility, and commitment through his major philosophical and literary works.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Existence precedes essence »
« We are our choices »
« Man is condemned to be free »
« Consciousness is a nothingness »
Key Facts
- 1943: Publication of 'Being and Nothingness', a landmark treatise of existentialist philosophy
- 1944: Premiere of the play 'No Exit', which became a classic of French theatre
- 1945: Lecture 'Existentialism Is a Humanism', which popularized his philosophy
- 1964: Refusal of the Nobel Prize in Literature for political reasons
- 1945–1980: Constant political engagement, notably regarding communism and anti-colonialism
Works & Achievements
Sartre's first novel, it follows Antoine Roquentin as he discovers the absurdity of existence through 'nausea', a feeling of overwhelming reality. A founding text of existentialist sensibility.
A play reworking the myth of Orestes, performed during the Occupation. Sartre develops the themes of freedom and responsibility in the face of oppression, with a veiled message of resistance.
A major philosophical work laying the foundations of Sartrean existentialism: the absolute freedom of consciousness, bad faith, and the distinction between being-in-itself and being-for-itself.
A short and striking play whose line 'Hell is other people' has remained famous. It illustrates how the gaze and judgements of others can imprison one's existence.
A published lecture that popularises existentialist philosophy for a general audience. Sartre asserts that man is responsible for what he is, with no excuses and no determinism.
A novelistic trilogy (The Age of Reason, The Reprieve, Troubled Sleep) exploring freedom and commitment through characters confronted with war and their existential choices.
An autobiography of Sartre's childhood, which that same year earned him the Nobel Prize he declined. A text of ironic lucidity about how he constructed his vocation as a writer.
Anecdotes
In 1964, Sartre refused the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first writer to voluntarily decline the award. He explained that a writer must refuse to be institutionalized in order to remain free in his commitments, adding that he did not want to be turned into an 'institution'.
From 1929 onwards, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir maintained a romantic 'pact' based on transparency and freedom: they allowed each other 'contingent loves' while keeping their relationship as their 'necessary love'. This unconventional union caused a scandal but became a symbol of emotional freedom in the 20th century.
During the German Occupation, Sartre wrote and staged his play The Flies in 1943, whose message about freedom and resistance to oppression was understood by Parisian audiences despite Nazi censorship. The Germans, failing to grasp the subtext, allowed the play to remain on stage.
In May 1968, Sartre spoke before thousands of striking students at the Sorbonne, openly supporting the movement. At over 60 years old, he also sold the Maoist newspaper La Cause du Peuple in the street to defy authorities who feared arresting him.
Sartre suffered visual hallucinations after a mescaline experiment in 1935, arranged by his friend Daniel Lagache. He saw crabs and octopuses following him everywhere for months — an experience that directly influenced his novel Nausea and his reflection on existential anguish.
Primary Sources
Existence precedes essence. This means that man first exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world, and defines himself afterwards. Man is nothing other than what he makes of himself.
Man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet nonetheless free, because once cast into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
The writer must therefore refuse to let himself be turned into an institution, even if this occurs under the most honorable circumstances, as is the case here.
I have no Superego. I had a very gentle grandfather who lacked the authority needed to implant one in me. I was left to do as I pleased, and I have no will at all.
The writer is situated in his time: every word has repercussions. Every silence too. I hold Flaubert and the Goncourts responsible for the repression that followed the Commune because they did not write a single line to prevent it.
Key Places
Sartre made the Café de Flore, on Boulevard Saint-Germain, his office and intellectual salon during the Occupation and the post-war years. It was there that he wrote a large part of his works and met the leading intellectuals of his time.
Sartre studied there from 1924 to 1929, forged his formative intellectual friendships, and prepared for the agrégation. This prestigious grande école on the Rue d'Ulm remains the site of his philosophical training.
Sartre lived for many years in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood, particularly on Rue Bonaparte, at the heart of post-war Parisian intellectual and artistic ferment.
Sartre taught philosophy at the lycée in Le Havre from 1931 to 1936, a provincial period often described as oppressive, which directly fed the atmosphere and themes of Nausea.
Sartre is buried alongside Simone de Beauvoir at Montparnasse Cemetery. His funeral in April 1980 drew an enormous crowd, a testament to his impact on French society.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
L'Être et le Néant
1943
L'Existentialisme est un humanisme
1945
Les Chemins de la liberté (trilogie)
1945-1949
