Existentialism

'· ' '· . REVIEWS EXISTENT IALT.? M* LAWRENCE E. LYNCH It is quite generally ·known today that in the short space of three o~ four years existentialism has become one of the most widely publicized and discussed philosophical phenomena of .the past several decades. Yet, , strange as it may seem, the literature on the subject available to the Englishspeaking world is rather remarkable for its scarcity. Little, in fact1 of an authentic nature ha:s· appeared, other than comparatively· few at·ticles in various avant garde perioditals. The result has been a general uncertainty asto the true nature·of existentialism-an uncertainty that has unfortuna-te- .. ly not deterred discussion of the subject. It has, indeed, served to cloak it in a veil of mysterious nebulosity that has.?ctually inspired much conjecture, both learned and otherwise. However1 with the appearance of what·is hoped .will eventually become an extensive series of translations from French (and, we sincerely tmst, fro~ German), th.e situation as regards'·original material should be adequately remedied. As ~ result of the wide acclaim Jean-Paul Sartre has received and the deep interest his dramatic efforts have aroused in Canada and the United States, it is little wonder that he should immediately attract the atten_tion of translators. The Philosophical Library of New York has·begun 'the publication of .his more serious philosophical works, and no doubt because of its brevity as ·a concise presentation of M. Sartre's thought the editors have chosen atranslation of L'E.'(istentiali.sme est une- humanisme as the first of his works to appear~ In. English the work bear's the simple title ExiJtentialism. As originally edited (Collection .Pensees, Les .Editions Nagel, Paris, 1946) this work was the text of a short lecture, delivered in Paris in 1945 along with a report of the discussion that followed the lecture itself.. In rendering the work into English, the tt·anslato~, Mr. Bernard Frechtman, has attempted to maintain the literary atmosphere of the ·lecture itself and "has not tried to polish th.e crude surface of the discussio:n., (p. ?). His tra~slation is gencrally quite satisfactory, although· he might perhaps have rendered "l'homme qui s'engage et qui se· rend· compte 'qu'il est non seulement cehii qu'il choisit d,etre .. ·. ne saurait -echapper au sentiment de sa totale et profonde responsabilite" (French. edition, p. 28) more accurately than athe man who involves himself and realizes that he is not only the person he. chooses to be ... can not help escape the feeling of his total and deep responsibility" (p. 22). The translation do~s appear to miss the real meaning. This, however, is but a minor detail. The whole work receives its general structure and ton~ from M. Sartre,s avowed purpose of using i.t as a medium of defending existentialism· against •Existentialism. By J£AN-PAUL SARTRe:. Translnted by BERNARD FR£CHTMAl>i.'' New York: Philosophical Library [Toronto: McLeod]. 194:7. Pp. 91. ($3.25) ' 430 ~ I • ,, ; REVIEWS 4Jl various charges that have been ·brought.against it... In' th·e interests of fair play h·e is careful to indicate (p. 15) that· it is his own brand of existential- :,ism , atheistic existentialism as ,opposed to the Christian existentialis~ of Karl Jaspers; and Gabriel Marcel1 that is.,at stake in the present work. Briefly_stated, the charges M. Sartre is concetned wit~ an·swering are these: .that existentialism invites people to remain in a kind of desperate quietism; that i't dwells only. on human .degradat;on; that it considers· man as an ' isolated being; and that it denies' the reality and seriousnesS of human undertakings. . Defence of his own position lends itself admirably to a general exposition of the main themes of what M. Sanre conceives existentialism to be. · He. defines it as, "a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares. that every' truth and every action implies ·a human setting and a hum~n·su~jectivity" (p. 12). ·He makes one plea that should be take~ to' ~eart most seriously by anyone who would be satisfied with dabbling in . M. Sartre's novels to the .exclus.ion of his more constructive work, ~amely,. that existentialism is...