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By Bryan Richards on Saturday 1 June 2019

Read Being and Nothingness edition by JeanPaul Sartre Sarah Richmond Politics Social Sciences eBooks





Product details

  • Print Length 736 pages
  • Publisher Atria Books (January 7, 2020)
  • Publication Date January 7, 2020
  • Sold by  Digital Services LLC
  • Language English
  • ASIN B07GNV22WM




Being and Nothingness edition by JeanPaul Sartre Sarah Richmond Politics Social Sciences eBooks Reviews


  • Had to buy a thirty dollar plus book to tell me what this book said. Still trying to find out.
  • It’s a little difficult to know how to review a epochal work like Being and Nothingness. Instead of summarizing the material, a herculean task given its eight hundred pages, I’ll simply provide what to expect and briefly share my opinions on his methods to help decide if this is worth your reading.

    As I understand him, Sartre is above all a phenomenologist. Engaging with the tradition of Hegel, Husserl and Heidegger most of the text is devoted to descriptions of how Sartre experienced his humanity. Assertions abound and new and complex terminology is developed, all around a new account of human consciousness and the world.

    Sartre reminds you how little philosophy has changed since Aristotle. In the Metaphysics Aristotle summarized his predecessors and laid down a sweeping account of the cosmos all based on his reflections on language, custom and personal experience.

    In the hands of a great thinker like Sartre a similar technique does result in some brilliant insights. Moreover, he is undoubtedly one of the primary sources of post-modernism. However, there is also a hard to understand lack of attention to germane material outside of philosophy.

    For example, there is a one hundred page description of time without any consideration of the unity of space and time in special relativity. While the human experience of temporality is finely illuminated is it too much to ask that it be informed by other disciplines?

    These oversights leads you to think that in an age making such strides towards understanding the physiology of consciousness, Sartre’s phenomenological approach seems rather dated and unnecessary. Those partial to this type of philosophizing may, however, disagree.

    Obviously you are in the presence of a great mind but will and should this way of almost solipsistic reasoning about the world endure? It seems to grow increasingly passé as the scientific outlook on humanity advances. In my opinion, for all its genius, Being and Consciousness is more of a relic than a living philosophical text. I wish I had not devoted the time to read it but, again, others will certainly differ.
  • Jean-Paul Sartre's "Being and Nothingness" is the fundamental text of Existentialism. His examination of ontology constantly reviews previous existential philosophy by building on, and refuting, the work of prior philosophers.

    Sartre begins with a framework on nothingness and negations. Nothingness does not have being but is supported by being. It comes into existence through the for-itself and allows consciousness to exist. Negations are acts which contain negativity as part of their structure (ex absence.) He then progresses to an examination of Bad Faith. This is essentially a false consciousness which a person pursues to flee from their own freedom.

    The most theoretically important part of the book regarding ontology is Sartre's explanation of Being-for-itself and Being-for-others. Being-for-itself is an examination of the works of Descartes, Husserl, etc, into the nature of the individuals being and consciousness. "The Other" is a concept from Hegel that Sartre alters to explain others around us. For Sartre "The Other" is in a constant battle to deprive the other person of their freedom without extinguishing their being.

    The second half of his treatise deals with issues mostly empirical in nature. Sartre has an impeccable knowledge of philosophy and the physical science up to 1943 (philosophy, biology, psychology, pyschics, etc..) He uses the theory of ontology to reexamine empirical issues where he finds scientific fields lacking. In the end Sartre devises a `Existential Psychoanalysis' (Existentialism) to examine psychological phenomenon through an ontological lens.

    For Sartre humans are thrown into the world, in a situation, but have absolute freedom over choice. They are responsible for their choice. Whether they chose to actively pursue something or passively submit THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE. This responsibility is not meant as an ethical judgment but rather a statement of fact.

    Sartre almost completely eschews ethical judgments in "Being and Nothingness." His objective throughout the work is to explain the ontological foundation of being. He reserves 2 pages at the end of the book discussing ethics. His advice is to strive for a synthesis of the being-in-itself with the being-for-itself (a true single consciousness between body and mind.) A person can then strive to attain their values (which are subjective in nature.)

    Note Sartre assumes his readers have read essentially every existential philosopher since Plato. He gives brief descriptions of each philosopher's theory but I strongly recommend you read their work before "Being and Nothingness." Sartre also uses incredibly obtuse language (which is made worse through translation.) While not as bad as other philosophers his work forces the person to actively read everything he says. Sartre commands an excellent understanding of science but actively rejects some of its most basic premises because science fails to ask the right questions. While some of the science he talks about has long been disproven for the most part his understanding of science remains valid.

    Note #2 I read the Gramercy edition.

    I strongly recommend "Being and Nothingness" to anyone interested in ontology with a strong background in philosophy and the psychical sciences.
  • I had a major breakthrough with Being and Nothingness, open my head.
    It took me a while before it sunk into my head, then pow saw how free i can be when i tap into nothingness which in turn is everything. Without the identity and bondage of body rather the freedom of being in- itself for the itself.
    Live for life itself!
  • Wow!
  • Depressing. #mustread
  • A classic for those interested in Existentialism or any form of contemplation about the reality of being.. Some may criticize that Jean-Paul is Atheistic, however, alot of groundwork for theism is laid by those whom do not believe. Good text!
  • This is the book where Sartre gives his first and most thorough explanations of Bad Faith, as well as overtly explains his ontology. If I had to recommend one book to understand the philosophy of Sartre, I would recommend this one. It is where we see Sartre's blueprint to the categorization of his world, and I think it is very beautiful.