Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French existentialist philosopher, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and critic. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1964, but refused it, saying "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution".[1] He was a Marxist and an atheist.
Jean-Paul Sartre | |
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| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School | Existentialism, Marxism |
Main interests | Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, Phenomenology, Ontology |
Notable ideas | "Existence precedes essence" "Bad faith" "Nothingness" |
Influences
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Influenced
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Sartre's life
Sartre was born in Paris, France. He studied philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure, an élite (high quality) education establishment. In 1929, Sartre graduated with a doctorate in philosophy. Sartre served in the French Army from 1929 to 1931.
In 1929 at the École Normale, he met Simone de Beauvoir, who studied at the Sorbonne. She went on to become a noted philosopher, writer, and feminist. The two became inseparable and lifelong companions. In 1938, Sartre wrote the novel called La Nausée (Nausea). This story explains the way of thinking of existentialism. Existentialism is a way of thinking about human freedom.
Draft to the army
In 1939 Sartre was drafted into the French army. France was at war with Germany, because Germany had invaded France (World War II) Sartre was captured by German troops in 1940, and Sartre spent nine months as a prisoner of war in a camp. Sartre was released from the prison camp (jail) in 1941. He then began working as a teacher again. He made friends with other writers and thinkers such as Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Toussaint and Dominique Desanti, and Jean Kanapa.
1940s
In 1943, Sartre wrote a book about philosophy (ways of thinking) called L'Être et le Néant, which means Being and Nothingness. In this book, Sartre said that when people tried too hard to conform to the rules of society (or of their country), then people did not really make their own decisions. And he concluded that life is useless disaster.
In 1945, Sartre started a newspaper called Les Temps Modernes (Modern Times), which had articles about politics, art and literature. He also began writing a group of novels (stories) called Les Chemins de la Liberté (The Roads to Freedom). In 1946 Sartre wrote a book about philosophy (ways of thinking) called Existentialism is a Humanism, which explains existentialism.
After 1950s
In the 1950s and 1960s, Sartre became involved in politics. Sartre said that France should leave Algeria, a country where France had many soldiers. In the 1960s, Sartre said that the Vietnam War was bad. In 1960, he wrote the Critique de la raison dialectique (Critique of Dialectical Reason). In the 1960s, Sartre had many arguments with Louis Althusser, a man who also believed in communism.
Death
Sartre died of oedema of the lung in 1980 in Paris. His body is buried in Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. His funeral was attended by 50,000 people.
Jean-Paul Sartre Media
Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre in Beijing, 1955
Sartre (third from left) and other French journalists visit General George C. Marshall in the Pentagon, 1945
Jean-Paul Sartre (middle) and Simone de Beauvoir (left) meeting with Che Guevara (right) in Cuba, 1960
Sketch of Sartre for The New York Times by Reginald Gray, 1965
Hélène de Beauvoir's house in Goxwiller, where Sartre tried to hide from the media after being awarded the Nobel Prize.
Jean-Paul Sartre in Venice; August of 1967.
Sartre's and de Beauvoir's grave in the cimetière du Montparnasse.
Sartre's and de Beauvoir's grave in 2016, with a new gravestone. Note the Metro tickets left by visitors.
Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir at the Balzac Memorial.
Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Claude Lanzmann meeting President Gamal Abdel Nasser at his home in Cairo, February 1967.
References
- ↑ The Nobel Foundation (1964). Nobel Prize in Literature 1964 - Press Release. Address by Anders Österling, Member of the Swedish Academy. Retrieved on: 4 February 2012.