In the light of a renewed interest today in forms of direct political participation, this paper explores the contributions of Sartre and Arendt to defending direct political action as an intrinsically valuable form of human freedom. Both thinkers note, however, that such forms of action and the 'spaces of freedom' in which they become possible are always fleeting and transitory. The paper argues that Sartre's account of the ways in which human action is always mediated and alienated by materiality is (...) important in accounting for this phenomenon. (shrink)

Several lines of analysis support the contention that Sartre’s theorizing can be used to bolster feminist concerns. Both philosophical and literary works are examined, and Notebooks for an Ethics, The Flies and The Respectful Prostitute are examined at some length. The commentary of Flynn, Bell and Pellauer is employed, and in general the argument relies on the notion that the construction of the for-itself, along with Sartre’s generalized portrayal of the Other, can be used for feminist purposes. Key Words: gender (...) theory • Sartre • transcendence. (shrink)

The study discusses the political in Jean-Paul Sartre's work, focusing principally on the conceptual constructions through which the agent acting in a political action situation can be interpreted from the texts. Sartre's conception of the political agent is discussed against the background of the operational concepts and the limit-situation as an ideal type action situation construed as conceptual devices in the work for showing both Sartre's fashion of using and of construing concepts. In addition certain metaphors such as theater, play (...) and mask are used for highlighting the political reading of the texts. The theme of the agent, in one form or another, runs through Sartre's entire work. It is a theme which largely gathers together the different conceptual devices and different perspectives he takes in his work. In this study, through concepts and figures interpreted from the texts, especially from Critique de la raison dialectique, itis shown that Sartre's construction of the agent forms a challenging attempt of a revised view into the classical concept of subject. It is also shown that his agent is both a political and a moral actor which cannot be reduced to a subject or to a person, but can be described as an actor, as a player of the political condition, and as a user of political action strategies through the concepts of limit, change and non-identity. Sartre's central point of view of action is that of the agent acting in an interior space of action in a construed world. This forwards a view within which the perspective of production forms a framework for the argumentation where the main themes through which the portrait of the agent can be drawn are temporality, interiority, exteriority and subjectivity. The agent of the Critique as a non-identifiable actor acting in a temporally and dimensionally produced action situation is produced in the process of internalization and externalization of the historical and inherently political condition of being condemned to freedom. In the study it is shown that it is this agent through whom the political comes to the world and who is condemned also to politics. It is also shown that this agent forms a perspective of interpretation as well to Sartre's plays as to the central concepts of his morals. (shrink)

Straipsnyje kritiškai aptariamas Jeano-Paulo Sartre’o filosofinis Būties ir niekio projektas, ypač jame pateikta filosofinė žmogaus egzistencijos prasmės interpretacija. Teigiama, kad būties prasmės problema Sartre’o mintyje yra tiesiogiai susijusi su jo metafizinio pagrindo neigimu. Tam, kad būtų paaiškinta ši Sartre’o neigimo filosofinė koncepcija, siekiama aptarti jo būties ir regimybės dualizmo atmetimą. Prancūzų filosofo regimybės, niekio ir kito sąmonės neigimo ontologinė artikuliacija turi būti suprantama socialiniame politiniame pokario Europos kultūriniame kontekste. Straipsnyje trumpai aptariama ir Sartre’o skirtis tarp autentiškos ir neautentiškos egzistencijos. Išvadose (...) teigiama, kad Sartre’o akcentuojamos nežinojimo ir radikalaus pasirinkimo sampratos nėra nei filosofiškai, nei egzistenciškai įtekančios. (shrink)