Being and Nothingness

Philosophy

First published: 1943
Print length: 811 pagesWashington Square Press, 1992

Description

Jean-Paul Sartre develops an existential account of what it means to be conscious, free, and responsible in a world of things. He distinguishes being-in-itself, the self-contained existence associated with objects, from being-for-itself, the negating and unfinished activity of consciousness. Because consciousness contains no hidden inner self, Sartre challenges both conventional psychology and Freud’s account of the unconscious. His analyses of perception, nothingness, choice, and self-deception show how people evade freedom through bad faith, adopting fixed identities or oppressive conventions as excuses. Engaging phenomenologists, idealists, rationalists, and empiricists, the work builds a demanding philosophy of existence in which authenticity remains possible but cannot remove the burden of continually choosing what one becomes.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Academic · Dense · Technical

Pace

Slow

Tone

Cerebral · Detached · Earnest · Philosophical

Structure

Argumentative

Focus

Argument · Ideas

Emotional intensity

2 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 5 / 5
Ideas: 5 / 5
Structure: 4 / 5
Background knowledge: 4 / 5

Themes

FreedomIdentityKnowledge and truthMoralityOppressionTransformation

About Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, novelist, playwright, critic, and political activist whose work made existentialism a major force in twentieth-century intellectual life. He moved between technical argument, fiction, drama, memoir, and public commentary, treating literature and philosophy as related ways of examining human conduct. Being and Nothingness develops his account of consciousness as restless, unfinished, and radically free, while Existentialism Is a Humanism presents freedom as inseparable from responsibility. His imaginative writing gives these ideas social and psychological pressure. Nausea renders ordinary existence strange through an isolated diarist’s perceptions; No Exit and The Age of Reason place characters in situations where self-understanding depends on choices, consequences, and the judgments of others. Across genres, Sartre repeatedly tests abstract claims against embarrassment, conflict, desire, and bad faith. This combination of systematic philosophy and dramatically embodied inquiry distinguishes a body of work that has remained influential in sociology, critical theory, postcolonial theory, and literary studies.

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Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Washington Square Press
Language: English
ISBN: 9780671867805

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