Contents
Jean-Paul Sartre
Making existentialism a major force in postwar intellectual life.
Nausea · Being and Nothingness
- Born
- 21 June 1905
- Birthplace
- Paris, France
- Died
- 15 April 1980
More people
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, novelist and playwright who connected freedom with responsibility. His ideas were expressed through philosophical argument, fictional situations and a highly visible political life.
Early life
Early bereavement
His father died when he was a young child; he grew up with his mother and grandparents.
Elite studies
Attended the École Normale Supérieure and qualified to teach philosophy.
Career
- 1930s
Teacher and author
Taught philosophy while developing fiction and phenomenological research.
- 1940s
Independent intellectual
Published major philosophical work and co-founded Les Temps modernes.
- Postwar decades
Political engagement
Wrote and campaigned on colonialism, Marxism and public affairs.
Selected work
Nausea
A novel about estrangement from everyday existence.
Being and Nothingness
Explores consciousness, freedom and relations with others.
No Exit
A play about people trapped with one another’s judgments.
Beyond work
Simone de Beauvoir
Maintained a long personal and intellectual partnership with the writer.
Nobel refusal
Declined the 1964 Literature Nobel, consistent with his refusal of official honours.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
