Sartre's powerful political passions were united with a memorable literary gift, placing him foremost among the novelists, as well as the philosophers, of our time. Iris Murdoch's pioneering study analyses and evaluates the different strands of Sartre's rich and complex oeurve. Combining the objectivity of the scholar with a profound interest in contemporary problems, Iris Murdoch discusses the tradition of philosophical, political and aesthetic thought that gives historical authenticity to Satre's achievement, while showing the ambiguities and dangers inherent in his position.
Introduction page 9
I. The Discovery of Things 39
II. The Labyrinth of Freedom 5':!
III. The Sickness of the Language 64
IV. Introspection and Imperfect Sympathy 81
V. Value and the Desire to be God 90
VI. Metaphysical Theory and Political Practice 96
VII. The Romance of Rationalism 105
VIII. Picturing Consciousness 114
IX. The Impossibility of Incarnation 126
x. Linguistic Acts and Linguistic Objects 138
Bibliography 151
Translations into English 155
