Fionnáin a publié une critique de Existentialism and humanism par Jean-Paul Sartre
Wartime Morality
3 étoiles
Some books are poignantly of their time, written in a situation and against a backdrop that is an unintended character in the story. This book is a publication based on a lecture delivered in Paris in 1945, when the European part of WWII had drawn to a close. Critiques that I have read about it seem to overlook this fact, but for me it is very important.
I am not very familiar with Sartre's Moral philosophy, and this was a good introduction as an easy (enough) read, and a well structured argument. It presents the idea of human responsibility for actions, pushing against social causes for morally reprehensible behaviours. Political and social positions are broadly considered, with occasional softheartedness to communist positions. Given the wartime context, it is hard to ignore how this might have been read or intended.
A lot of space is given used to push against …
Some books are poignantly of their time, written in a situation and against a backdrop that is an unintended character in the story. This book is a publication based on a lecture delivered in Paris in 1945, when the European part of WWII had drawn to a close. Critiques that I have read about it seem to overlook this fact, but for me it is very important.
I am not very familiar with Sartre's Moral philosophy, and this was a good introduction as an easy (enough) read, and a well structured argument. It presents the idea of human responsibility for actions, pushing against social causes for morally reprehensible behaviours. Political and social positions are broadly considered, with occasional softheartedness to communist positions. Given the wartime context, it is hard to ignore how this might have been read or intended.
A lot of space is given used to push against critiques of Sartre's school of existentialism. The language and framing is very much of its time — the translation suggests a confident male positivist lecturer used to believing his own polemic. Today this is jarring, as it should be, but there are still nuggets in the text that are interesting as part of the history of moral philosophy, if only because of the historical context. I need to read more Sartre to grasp these ideas better, but this was a good start.