EXISTENTIALISM IS ALIVE AND KICKING STRONG

By: John Y. Day

J.P. Sartre: “Man must be invented each day”.

Albert Camus: “I rebel, then we are. "

Half a century after the end of “era Sartre” (a period around the Second
World War), the materialistic version of existentialism created by Jean-
Paul Sartre is still alive and kicking strong. Although different authors
disagree whether it is, basically, a branch of philosophy to be applied
mostly on human existence and on literature and theatre; or on socio-
political theory as projected to human history and future destiny; nobody
denies its strong influence until the present days.

The word “existentialism” in its English version has 2,640.000 entries in

GOOGLE search (“pragmatism” has 1,940.000 entries), while the world
“Sartre” has 11,400.000 entries.

A few writers about Sartre during the last (20th) century, carried by his
political and literary contraversis, attempted to grasp him as a whole man.
And only a few of them unterstood that he had been not only a man of his
century but was “destined” to assist all of us in search of life ´s meaning
without time limit .

The influence on Sartre´s life and work, probably, had the atrocities
commited during two world wars, (1914-1018) and (1939-1945) that
occured during his lifetime.
That is why he aleays remaind a man of peace and fighter against the war
in any form.

But it was Sartre´s friendship with Albert Camus (1913-1960) that had the
crucial influence on both, and in particular on Sartre´s “life philosophy”.
Although Camus's commitment was rather of anarchist type of
existentielism, Camus believed in the crucial role of “the others”
("Humanity is what it is, rather little. But it is."). Also, the Camus concept
of humanity as product of a tragical, Sizifud type, Rebelion had an
important influence on Sartre – in spite of the fact that he often denied it.
To this, it should be added that the important role of Simone de Bauvoire in
the development of human relation problem (in particular men and women
relation) has been, until recently, little elucidate in the literature.
In the United States and in England there are “SARTRE societies now. In
Europe, and especially in France, and in practically in the whole world
there is a continuous interest in Sartre´s existentialism, his personality and
social and political biography. He is becoming a kind of GURU of our lives
and his parallel with Hinduism and Buddhism has been long noted.

In occasion of the celebration of Hundred year of Sartre’s birth (1905-

1980) the National library of France organized an exposition in Paris, the
result of which is now permanent: documents related to Sartre life as well
as copies of virtually all his publications can be found on Internet by
addressing the library: “BNP Sartre Paris”.

Virtually each text written by Sartre has been commented upon many times
and in all kind of media in practically all countries in the World. His
existentialist categories, such as “bad faith” or “the others”, have entered
the every days vocabulary.

*
Here it is a brief description of Sartre´s existentialism as affecting humans´
every days lives and destiny which can be found en Internet GOOGLE:
Sartre’s Existentialism (Excerpt)

”The philosophical career of Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

focuses, in its first phase, upon the construction of a philosophy of
existence known as existentialism. Sartre’s early works are characterized
by a development of classic phenomenology, but his reflection diverges
from Husserl’s on methodology, the conception of the self, and an interest
in ethics. These points of divergence are the cornerstones of Sartre’s
existential phenomenology, whose purpose is to understand human
existence rather than the world as such. Adopting and adapting the
methods of phenomenology, Sartre sets out to develop an ontological
account of what it is to be human. The main features of this ontology are
the groundlessness and radical freedom which characterize the human
condition.”

-From Internet GOOGLE: “Naturalistic Epistemology,” by Chase B.

Wrenn, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISSN 2161-
0002, http://www.iep.utm.edu/, today’s date.