Jean-Paul Sartre: Mind and Body, Word and Deed - Hardcover

"This is an impressive collection of essays by two of the UK's most dedicated Sartre scholars. The questions of embodied consciousness and of words and/as actions are both timely and perennial; that is to say, urgent, in view of the rapid advances of neuroscience, and yet amongst the `universal' issues that philosophy is constantly trying to come to terms with. This work represents a substantial contribution from Boule and O'Donohoe."-Christina Howells, Professor of French, Wadham College, Oxford

Jean-Paul Sartre: Mind and Body, Word and Deed celebrates Sartre's polyvalence with an examination of Sartrean philosophy, literature, and politics. In four distinct yet related sections, twelve scholars from three continents examine Sartre's thought, writing and action over his long career. "Sartre and the Body" reappraises Sartre's work in dialogue with other philosophers past and present, including Maine de Biran, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Didier Anzieu. "Sartre and Time" offers a first-hand account by Michel Contat of Sartre and Beauvoir working together, and a "philosophy in practice" analysis by Francois Noudelmann. "Ideology and Politics" uses Sartrean notions of commitment and engagement to address modern and contemporary politics, including insights into Castro, De Gaulle, Sarkozy and Obama. Finally, an important but neglected episode of Sartre's life-the visit that he and Beauvoir made to Japan in 1966-is narrated with verve and humour by Professor Suzuki Michihiko, who first met Sartre during that visit and remained in touch subsequently. Taken together, these twelve chapters make a strong case for the continued relevance of Sartre today.