50 pages 1 hour read

Jean-Paul Sartre

Being and Nothingness

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1943

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Essay Topics

1.

Sartre references many philosophers throughout his work who either influenced him or with whom he disagrees. However, he fails to acknowledge his peers who had a profound effect on his theories. Who are these peers, and how did their philosophies compare to Sartre’s?

2.

How can existentialism be viewed as a response to Marxism? How did Sartre reconcile his existentialism with his adherence to the doctrines of socialism and communism in the face of World War II and Stalinism?

3.

What roles do dualities play in existentialism? Sartre claims to reject dualities throughout Being and Nothingness. Are the theories presented in Sartrean existentialism dependent or independent of duality?