Sartre and Camus: A Historic Confrontation

by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Adrian van den Hoven (Editor)

In a series of highly publicized articles in 1952, Jean-Paul Sartre engaged Albert Camus in a bitter public confrontation over the ideas Camus articulated in his renowned work, The Rebel. This volume contains English translations of the five texts constituting this famous philosophical quarrel. It also features a biographical and critical introduction plus two essays by contemporary scholars reflecting on the cultural and philosophical significance of this confrontation. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

275 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology). His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."
Sartre held an open relationship with prominent feminist and fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Together, Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged the cultural and social assumptions and expectations of their upbringings, which they considered bourgeois, in both lifestyles and thought. The conflict between oppressive, spiritually destructive conformity (mauvaise foi, literally, 'bad faith') and an "authentic" way of "being" became the dominant theme of Sartre's early work, a theme embodied in his principal philosophical work Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943). Sartre's introduction to his philosophy is his work Existentialism Is a Humanism (L'existentialisme est un humanisme, 1946), originally presented as a lecture.

Reviews

[Lys · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize when I picked it up that a major portion of the book was written by my old dissertation director! I mean, I should have since he's a renowned Sartrean scholar...but I didn't.
It was like listening to him lecture again. I could imagine the dry chuckle, the tired smile, the kind eyes, the gap between the top of his socks and the bottom of his pants. Brilliant mind. Absolutely wish I could go back in time and just sit in his lectures again.
Anywho.
The book begins with a lengthy preface introducing the nature of the conflict between Camus and Sartre and covering their philosophical positions and how they began to diverge around the topic of communism and political literature in general. There's a discussion of the beginning of the rift between the two friends, possibly as early as 1944 when Camus declined joining the editorial committee of /Les temps modernes/. However, after Sartre's journal published Jeanson's scathing review of /The Rebel/ in 1952, there seemed to be no turning back as a series of letters and published articles would put them at irreparable odds, with de Beauvoir arguing that Camus was too much of an idealist, and Camus claiming a similar position for himself. And "thus two of the most preeminent European intellectuals of the early post-World War II era came to a dramatic and public parting of the ways."

Part 1 of the book (actually beginning almost a quarter of the way in) have Jeanson's review, Camus' responding letter to the editor, a reply from Sartre, an additional reply from Jeanson, and a defense Camus wrote for his novel - notably published elsewhere.

Part 2's (around 75%) Reflections contains commentary on what has come after, and then the McBride and Isaac reflections on the controversy, such as it were.

The appendix covers the timeline of Camus and Sartre's friendship and falling out.

There are several books on this conflict between the existentialist and the absurdist. This one is relatively easy to follow, and it has a lovely personal reflection by McBride, which makes it a pleasure to read. Then again, if you're reading about Sartre, McBride is going to be somewhere in the footnotes. This hada lovely little narrative section though covering McBride's experiences at college in France and then at Yale, as well as a reflection on why he felt Sartre's position was more philosophically robust. (It was almost enough to convince me, because I do love McBride, but I might be too much of an idealist, also).

A nice edition with good organization. Accessible but still obviously intended for an academic crowd.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to page 90 and gave up. I thought the book would be explosive, but I wasn't aware of the background of the 1952 split between Camus and Sartre and I found it a little underwhelming. Indeed, after the book established the fact that the split occurred because Camus moved away from communism and, to a lesser degree, toward the Americans while Sartre became fervently communist and a supporter of Stalin and Soviet Russia, I saw no further need to read. Eventually, the letters between Sartre, Camus, and Francis Jeanson, Sartre's colleague, that were published and that caused all of the stir become a large component of the book, but by then, why read? You already know what the outcome is. I've always preferred Camus over Sartre and this book does Sartre no favors (nor Camus either, for that matter), so I remain a stolid supporter of Camus and his work. I think I can get along just fine without finishing the book. For diehard fans, this might be a good read. I thought I was a diehard fan, but maybe I'm not after all.

[Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an essential contribution to scholarship related to Camus, Sartre, and politics surrounding the Cold War and 20th century totalitarian movements as a whole. The team that put this book together should be commended for not only compiling English translations of all of the primary texts involved in the Camus-Sartre split of 1952 in one place (finally!), but also for the ample contextual information and re-assessments of the debate that are also provided. Required reading!

[Stephen Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating

In some ways the story of this debate captures many current issues and debate relating to individualism and individual freedom versus communalism or social movements. I loved this. It has changed by views on Sartre, Camus and communism. I’m not really team Camus or team Sartre- but agree and disagree with elements of both.

[T.AniS · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a time it must have been to be alive

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

در اوایل دهه ی پنجاه قرن گذشته ی میلادی که ژان پل سارتر به حزب کمونیست فرانسه پیوست، کامو و مرلوپونتی طی مقالاتی که اغلب در مجله ی "عصر جدید" به سرپرستی خود سارتر منتشر می شد، به انتقاد از او پرداختند. این کتاب مجموعه ای از مقالات انتقادی کامو از سارتر است که معتقد است آزادی و حقوق بشر در کمونیسم موجود استالینی در آن سال ها در شوروی، نقض می شود.

[Irwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am probably just not a "debate" person. I can't seem to enjoy this type of intellectual activities.

The introduction/summary is the part of the book that I enjoy. It freshens up a little that I know about Sartre's and Camus' work.