The New Sartre

Presents a radical reassessment of Jean Paul Sartre's work, the systematic study of Sartre's relationship to postmodernism. This book explores the differences and similarities between Sartrean existentialism and French poststructuralism. It highlights the value and relevance of Sartre's work to our postmodern times.

Jean Paul Sartre is still widely regarded as France's most famous and influential philosopher. Yet, to many, his work has been superseded by the work of subsequent poststructuralist and postmodernist philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard and Gilles Deleuze. "The New Sartre" presents a radical reassessment of Sartre's work, the first systematic study of Sartre's relationship to postmodernism. The book presents the reader with a detailed analysis of Sartre's entire oeuvre, from the 1930s to the 1970s, focussing in particular on his two main philosophical texts, "Being and Nothingness" and "The Critique of Dialectical Reason". Arguing that Sartre is a schizophrenic and transitional thinker, a thinker caught between modern constructionism and postmodern deconstruction, the book explores the differences and similarities between Sartrean existentialism and French poststructuralism. A fundamental revaluation of one of the central figures of 20th Century thought, "The New Sartre" highlights the critical value and enduring relevance of Sartre's work to our postmodern times.