Abstract
This article focuses on the relation between philosophy
and literature in early Sartre, showing how his literary writing can be
seen as philosophically significant by interpreting Sartre as practising
a variant of phenomenological method. I first clarify Sartre’s approach
to phenomenological method by comparing and contrasting it with
Husserl’s. Despite agreeing that philosophy is a reflective descriptive
study of essences, Sartre sees no use for phenomenological reduction
and free variation. I then consider the philosophical function of
Sartre’s literary works, arguing that, although these cannot reliably
convey philosophical theories, their significance lies in describing
concrete situations that ground reflective theoretical concepts. However,
this grounding function can be understood only if Sartre is seen
as realising Husserl’s phenomenological method – including phenomenological
reduction and free variation – more fully than he
acknowledges. Finally, I address two challenges to my view and briefly
assess the value of literary phenomenology as a philosophical method.