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foggy1218's review against another edition
4.0
2023 reads, 2/12:
This book was really a lecture that Sartre gave on October 28, 1945, in Paris, in order to defend the philosophy of existentialism, and describe it to a general audience (this book was published a year later). He emphasizes the underlying creed – that existence precedes essence – and spends the rest of the lecture giving examples and further clarifying his thoughts.
This was more so a utility read for me, to further understand Sartre’s thoughts on what existentialism was. It wasn’t as dry as I was expecting, but the short length helped with that. Regardless, it was great seeing how Sartre had expanded on and refined his ideas since [b:Nausea|298275|Nausea|Jean-Paul Sartre|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377674928l/298275._SY75_.jpg|1319935], a book seemingly overwhelmed with despair. Not sure if there’s any historical accuracy to this, but I could see that book being one of the reasons he felt the need to defend existentialism. I overall enjoyed this, and would classify it as an essential to anyone who wants to further understand existentialism (and how it differs from absurdism), and the general French philosophy at the time.
“My purpose here is to offer a defence of existentialism against several reproaches that have been laid against it.”
This book was really a lecture that Sartre gave on October 28, 1945, in Paris, in order to defend the philosophy of existentialism, and describe it to a general audience (this book was published a year later). He emphasizes the underlying creed – that existence precedes essence – and spends the rest of the lecture giving examples and further clarifying his thoughts.
This was more so a utility read for me, to further understand Sartre’s thoughts on what existentialism was. It wasn’t as dry as I was expecting, but the short length helped with that. Regardless, it was great seeing how Sartre had expanded on and refined his ideas since [b:Nausea|298275|Nausea|Jean-Paul Sartre|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377674928l/298275._SY75_.jpg|1319935], a book seemingly overwhelmed with despair. Not sure if there’s any historical accuracy to this, but I could see that book being one of the reasons he felt the need to defend existentialism. I overall enjoyed this, and would classify it as an essential to anyone who wants to further understand existentialism (and how it differs from absurdism), and the general French philosophy at the time.
“This relation of transcendence as constitutive of man (not in the sense that God is transcendent, but in the sense of self-surpassing) with subjectivity (in such a sense that man is not shut up in himself but forever present in a human universe) – it is this that we call existential humanism”
johnmillsxoxo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Hard to review as it is essentially a transcript of a lecture. Good argument but takes it to a logical extreme that I find incompatible with limitations on humanity
gruso's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
I had always heard of existentialism as a branch off of nihilism- Instead of life having no meaning, it is created through experience.
What Sartre posits in this lecture is quite informative as to what his view of this means. The existentialist notion of despair, abandonment (strictly the atheistic view of existentialism), and anguish are all laid out in brevity here with examples of what they mean.
If you are interested in phenomenology, this is a short but fairly dense read that has value.
What Sartre posits in this lecture is quite informative as to what his view of this means. The existentialist notion of despair, abandonment (strictly the atheistic view of existentialism), and anguish are all laid out in brevity here with examples of what they mean.
If you are interested in phenomenology, this is a short but fairly dense read that has value.
booksnpunks's review against another edition
5.0
I wanted to get this read before I returned it to a library. Sartre explains existentialism in response to the criticism received by Christians and Communists. It discusses the idea that our existence precedes our essence and where this philosophy sits in relation to humanism. This part was very interesting for me after reading his breakdown of humanism inside [b:Nausea|298275|Nausea|Jean-Paul Sartre|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1377674928s/298275.jpg|1319935], and so was the section where he discussed the essence of objects and how this sets humans apart from them.
Basically Sartre is amazing and I need to read everything he has ever written.
Basically Sartre is amazing and I need to read everything he has ever written.
wickedcestus's review against another edition
Having read and enjoyed Sartre's Being and Nothingness, I found this to be a great refresher that summarizes his main ideas without too much of the technical stuff.
This book also works as a perfect introduction to existentialism. If you are curious about Sartre, or postmodern philosophy in general, this is the place to start. Sartre responds to several perceived criticisms of existentialism, such as its pessimism and lack of moral structure. Essentially, he explains how these critiques fail to understand the nature of existentialism, and restates the main ideas in ways that make this more clear.
The edition I read included a commentary on Camus' novel The Stranger. I didn't enjoy the novel much when I read it, but this commentary gave me some appreciation for it.
This book also works as a perfect introduction to existentialism. If you are curious about Sartre, or postmodern philosophy in general, this is the place to start. Sartre responds to several perceived criticisms of existentialism, such as its pessimism and lack of moral structure. Essentially, he explains how these critiques fail to understand the nature of existentialism, and restates the main ideas in ways that make this more clear.
The edition I read included a commentary on Camus' novel The Stranger. I didn't enjoy the novel much when I read it, but this commentary gave me some appreciation for it.
phantomdaemon's review against another edition
4.0
I think it is a wonderful, easy to understand introduction to Sartre's philosophy.