How do you feel about a man that advocated the concept that responsibility lies solely on the individual in order to give their lives meaning? That we have the freedom to do whatever we choose to do; if you where raised in a very adverse environment, it was primarily because you choose to stay in that type of environment. That we're here (born on Earth) by chance and that nothing objectively is of value. Thoughts?
I agree. A lot of people compare/contrast Sarte's work from Camus' which I think is a mistake - and Camus said that himself. (Just random tidbit I felt needed to be thrown in)
I think that his philosophy was typical of the rudimentary understanding that the psychology of his day provided him with. Almost nothing he said has the same weight today that it did when he said it. I think like alot of continentals, he's too focused on being an incredible writer instead of focusing on breaking ground in philosophy. I dig the whole, "existence precedes essence" thing because it gives a nice fundamental understanding of why racism is dumb. I don't like the fact that he inspired the beatnick generation.
Derrida on Sartre "Not a strong philosopher" [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJS-A8FHWYI]Derrida on Sartre "Not a strong philosopher" - YouTube[/ame] Also, Being and Nothingness shouldn't be compared with Being and Time