Jean-Paul Sartre, L'Existentialisme est un humanisme [Existentialism and Humanism]

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Existentialism is a Humanism

is the text of a conference given by Jean-Paul Sartre in October 1945. He had already published several philosophical works, including

Being and Nothingness

, several plays, and the first two volumes of

The Roads to Freedom

. He was already a famous writer, whose work has been widely read and criticized. Through this conference, Sartre intended to make his philosophy more accessible and to respond to several criticisms addressed to him.

Definition of existentialism

Definition of existentialism

Sartre’s conference begins by defining existentialism through its effects: it is a “doctrine which makes human life possible and also affirms that every truth and every action imply an environment and a human subjectivity” (p. 18). This optimistic definition makes it

3418 words

Citation: Malinge, Yoann. "L'Existentialisme est un humanisme". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 April 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11104, accessed 29 March 2024.]

11104 L'Existentialisme est un humanisme 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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