Sartre For Beginners is an accessible yet sophisticated introduction to the life and works of the famous French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre. Sartre was a member of the French underground during WWII, a novelist, a playwright, and a major influence in French political and intellectual life. The book opens with a biographical section, introducing the significant events in the life of the man who coined the term âexistentialism.â Then it examines Sartreâs early philosophical works. Ideas from Sartreâs other fictional and dramatic works are discussed, but the greatest part is the presentation of the main concepts from Sartreâs Being and Nothingness (1943). These include the topics of consciousness, freedom, responsibility, absurdity, âbad faith,â authenticity, and the hellish confrontation with other people. Finally, the book deals with Sartreâs modification of his early existentialism to compliment his conversion to a kind of âexistentialâ Marxism. Sartre For Beginners summarizes the work of the most renown philosopher of the 20th Century.Â
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