Jean-Paul Sartre
1905 — 1980
Biography
Jean-Paul Sartre was a philosopher, writer, playwright, public figure. Nobel Prize laureate (refused to accept).
'Existence precedes essence' — the motto of atheistic existentialism. Man has no given nature; he creates himself through free choice. 'Man is condemned to be free.'
Freedom is inseparable from responsibility and anxiety. 'Hell is other people' — a famous phrase from the play 'No Exit.'
Key Ideas
- Existence precedes essence
- Man is condemned to be free
- Hell is other people
- Anxiety and responsibility
- Bad faith (mauvaise foi)
Works
-
Being and Nothingness
(1943)
Main philosophical work
-
Existentialism Is a Humanism
(1946)
Popular exposition of ideas
-
Nausea
(1938)
Philosophical novel