| View Larger Image | Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology (Routledge Classics) | Paperbackby Jean-Paul Sartre (Author)
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| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Routledge | | Edition: | 2nd Edition | | Page Count: | 688 Pages | | Publication Date: | August 28, 2003 | | Sales Rank: | 193,608rd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Being and Nothingness is without doubt one of the most significant books of the twentieth century. The central work by one of the world's most influential thinkers, it altered the course of western philosophy. Its revolutionary approach challenged all previous assumptions about the individual's relationship with the world. Known as 'the Bible of existentialism', its impact on culture and literature was immediate and was felt worldwide, from the absurd drama of Samuel Beckett to the soul-searching cries of the Beat poets.Being and Nothingness is one of those rare books whose influence has affected the mind-set of subsequent generations. Sixty years after its first publication, its message remains as potent as ever - challenging the reader to confront the fundamental dilemmas of human freedom, responsibility and action. |
Amazon.com Review
Jean-Paul Sartre, the seminal smarty-pants of mid-century thinking, launched the existentialist fleet with the publication of Being and Nothingness in 1943. Though the book is thick, dense, and unfriendly to careless readers, it is indispensable to those interested in the philosophy of consciousness and free will. Some of his arguments are fallacious, others are unclear, but for the most part Sartre's thoughts penetrate deeply into fundamental philosophical territory. Basing his conception of self-consciousness loosely on Heidegger's "being," Sartre proceeds to sharply delineate between conscious actions ("for themselves") and unconscious ("in themselves"). It is a conscious choice, he claims, to live one's life "authentically" and in a unified fashion, or not--this is the fundamental freedom of our lives. Drawing on history and his own rich imagination for examples, Sartre offers compelling supplements to his more formal arguments. The waiter who detaches himself from his job-role sticks in the reader's memory with greater tenacity than the lengthy discussion of inauthentic life and serves to bring the full force of the argument to life. Even if you're not an angst-addicted poet from North Beach, Being and Nothingness offers you a deep conversation with a brilliant mind--unfortunately, a rare find these days. --Rob Lightner |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 59 reviews)
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So So Version by Reader From Aurora  3 Stars
November 27, 2009
Being and Nothingness is the best known and most comprehensive exposition of Sartre's philosophical system. The following comments pertain to the Washington Square unabridged version of the text.
One of Sartre's objectives in Being and Nothingness is to develop an understanding of knowledge that avoids what he sees as the two extremes of idealism and realism (Cartesian dualism). Very much in the existential/phenomenological tradition of early twentieth century continental philosophy, the starting point for Sartre's system is the public shared world rather than the private world of thought. From this perspective he puts forth a tripartite ontology, consisting of `being-in-itself', `being- for-itself' and `being-for- others'. While Sartre's discussion of being-in-itself and being-for-itself are laborious and not particularly original (heavily indebted to Heidegger), he is most interesting in his phenomenological discussion of what it is like to be a in a shared world with others. At its best, Being and Nothingness provides an interesting and eclectic mix of philosophy and psychology which challenges the reader to recall and interact with an array of thinkers and ideas.
While not without some strength the book is a difficult read on several front, first, the subject matter is dense (the nature of being), and, second, Sartre's awkward and pretentious prose cloud examination of this already challenging subject. Indeed, the combination of poor style and sheer length (800 pages) causes many readers to skim the text or put it away entirely. Potential readers should be forewarned, this is rambling and repetitive text which reads very much like an early manuscript. While Sartre has his followers, to many commentators he is seen more as a political activist and public personality than a serious thinker, often being criticized for misunderstanding and misrepresenting the works of others.
While the Washington Square version is relatively inexpensive, the font is small and the quality of the print is lacking in sharpness - this could be a specific problem with my copy, but, I think that it is likely a wider print issue. Overall, while Sartre's popularity has been eclipsed by other existential thinkers of the period, Being and Nothingness continues to have some historic significance, and, as a result, may be worth a look by students of twentieth century continental philosophy. I would not normally recommend a commentary in place of an original text, however, if ever there was a case to do so, this would be it - Joseph Catalano's commentary is good in this regard, he does a commendable job of summarizing and representing Sartre's ideas.
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Sartre's angst to write the epitome of existentialism (living life outside of it!) by THE RED ANT (Athens, Greece)  2 Stars
November 20, 2008
This book is for the most part tedious and often it will get on your nerves, but nonetheless your effort will be rewarded with some valuable knowledge. Sartre intentionally writes in an academic, obscure, constipated way that makes you wonder whether it is due to your limited mental capacity that you do not understand what he is saying, or that he takes so much pride in his superior self that he does not want to be understood by the many. The trick when you read Sartre is to recognize in his writing those parts that correlate with the experience of your own everyday life. Doing so, you will be able to find some practically useful wisdom in Sartre's thinking. After all, every philosophy of life should fundamentally relate with our everyday existence, otherwise it is not philosophy but some sterile theory destined to fall in limbo.
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Sartre's magnum opus by Jameson P. Ryley (Geneseo, IL)  4 Stars
July 21, 2008
If you are up to the task of reading Being and Nothingness then you should read Sartre's earlier works first. It is very important to understand his ideas on phenomenology and consciousness by reading "The Transcendence of the Ego", "The Imaginary", "The Emotions", and "Nausea" before reading his magnum opus. Also, I do not think one can understand this book entirely without having a background of the world Sartre lived in, so a brief understanding of France during WWII and the resistence movement will be helpful. Furthermore, Sartre is weighing heavily on the works of Husserl and Heidegger so an understanding of their works is also very helpful. Sartre's introduction is the most difficult part of the book so do not become discouraged. In fact, it may be helpful to read his introduction last. This book is very abstract but all of this should help. A good summary of Sartre's works can be found in Gary Gutting's "French Philosophy in the 20th century" and I used Gary Cox's "Sartre: A Guide for the Perplexed" and it was also helpful.
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A bad edition of a great book by Joel F. Richeimer (Gambier, OH)  1 Stars
April 21, 2008
Being and Nothingness is a difficult but great book. This edition is terrible. It omits some of the central passages of this classic. For instance, the beautiful section on the 'Patterns of Bad Faith' are deleted. If you carefully read the inside of the jacket, it does say it is an abridged edition. That would not be bad if they deleted unimportant sections. Instead the publisher deleted key sections which they reprinted in their edition of Essays in Existentialism. So you are forced to buy two of their books.
If you want a copy of Being and Nothingness, get the Washington Square Press edition or the Routledge edition.
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I liked being, I skipped nothingness. by Victor (Los Angeles)  5 Stars
February 16, 2008
This book is really a propaganda piece whose primary objective was to rouse French people to resist German occupiers. Published under enemy censorship, it reads between the lines as an appeal to French guilt about not facing up to their responsibilities. Sartre risked his life in the underground and hoped that his fellow countrymen would get the same message. It was written deliberately in a pseudo-Germanic, Heidegger-type complicated style to fool German censors into thinking that it was a work of philosophy. Philosophy really seeks knowledge. But being is not apprehended through knowledge and has nothing even to do with philosophy. The very word "ontology" is an oxymoronic joke. It means "knowledge of being," but being by definition cannot be known. As Sartre says, being does not exist, it simply is.
In one passage, Sartre uses as an example of free will a person who chooses not to associate with Jews. Sartre knew that this obvious burlesque of Nazism would have been taken seriously only by a censor brainwashed under the Hitler Youth movement. The book is a classic example of how to write in code and make it appear something else. It serves as an inspirational guide for authors and speakers living in controlled societies.
Here is an example of how such code words could be applied. It is almost impossible to be heard on a radio talk show, unless you agree with the host and heap praise on him or her. Suppose that the host favors intervention in Iraq and you oppose it. What can you do to get on air? The answer is to agree with the host but in an absurd way so as to expose subtly the illogicality of the policy. For example:
Host: Jane in Toledo, go ahead.
Caller: Love your show, Fred. I just wanted to say that it doesn't matter how many of us must die. The important thing is that finally we have peace in the Middle East.
Do you get the idea how to achieve being and avoid nothingness?
Sartre declares himself an atheist. But his mystical nothingness which ties in with guilt feelings sounds like religion in new bottles.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Nausea
by Jean-Paul Sartre (Author), Lloyd Alexander (Translator), Richard Howard (Translator)
The classic Existentialist novel, with a newintroduction by renowned poet, translator, and critic Richard Howard.
Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize for Literature, Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist, holds a position of singular eminence in the world of letters. Among readers and critics familiar with the whole of Sartre's work, it is generally recognized that his earliest novel, La Nausée (first published in 1938), is his finest and most significant. It...
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| Being and Time
by Martin Heidegger (Author)
"What is the meaning of being?" This is the central question of Martin Heidegger's profoundly important work, in which the great philosopher seeks to explain the basic problems of existence. A central influence on later philosophy, literature, art, and criticism—as well as existentialism and much of postmodern thought—Being and Time forever changed the intellectual map of the modern world. As Richard Rorty wrote in the New York Times Book Review, "You cannot read most of the important...
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| The Transcendence of the Ego: An Existentialist Theory of Consciousness
by Jean-Paul Sartre (Author)
First published in France in 1937, this important essay marked a turning point in Sartre’s philosophical development. Before writing it, he had been closely allied with phenomenologists such as Husserl and Heidegger. Here, however, Sartre attacked Husserl’s notion of a transcendental ego. The break with Husserl, in turn, facilitated Sartre’s transition from phenomenology to the existentialist doctrines of his masterwork, Being and Nothingness, which was completed a few years later while...
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| Existentialism And Human Emotions (A Philosophical Library Book)
by Jean-Paul Sartre (Author)
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| Existentialism Is a Humanism
by Jean Paul Sartre (Author), Carol Macomber (Translator), Arlette Elkaim-Sartre (Translator), Annie Cohen-Solal (Translator)
It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Sartre accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The...
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