Catalogue, detailed introduction

Existentialist Marxism

Sartre's Social Group Theory

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Jean Paul Sartre (1905- 1980). 1June 2 1905 was born in Paris, a French writer, philosopher and social activity expert. /kloc-at the age of 0/9, he entered the Paris Teachers College to study philosophy, and later worked as a philosophy teacher in a middle school. 1933 studied at the philosophy department of the French Academy in Berlin. World War II broke out and he was drafted into the army. 1940 was captured by the Germans, released the following year, and later joined the French underground resistance movement.

Detailed introduction

One of the most important French philosophers in the 20th century, and the main representative of French atheism existentialism. He is also an excellent writer. Playwright, critic and social activist.

Sartre was born in a family of naval officers in Paris. He lost his father since childhood and lived in his grandfather's house since childhood. My father was a naval officer and died of fever in India when Sartre 15 months old. When Sartre 12 years old, his mother remarried and his stepfather was a naval engineer. He was superstitious about mathematical science and advocated that Sartre should study as an engineer in the future, which made Sartre very disgusted and strengthened his determination to engage in humanities. He began to read a lot of literary works when he was very young. I came into contact with the works of Bergson, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in middle school. 1924 was admitted to the Paris Normal School to study philosophy. 1929 obtained the qualification of philosophy teacher in large and medium schools, and then taught in middle schools. From 65438 to 0933, he went to the French Academy in Berlin, Germany to study philosophy and accept Husserl's phenomenology and Heidegger's existentialism. After returning to China, he continued to teach in middle schools, and published his first philosophical works one after another: On Imagination, Transcendence, Preliminary Exploration of Emotional Theory, Intentionality, A Basic Concept of Husserl's Phenomenology, etc. 1In the autumn of 943, his philosophical masterpiece Being and Nothingness was published, which established Sartre's atheistic existential philosophy system.

Although Sartre was once a precocious and brilliant student, it was not until he was 33 that he published his first literary work. When he was a middle school teacher in le havre, Sartre was frustrated with the passage of time, so he began to think about loneliness, and wrote the following articles one after another: On Accidental, On Loneliness of Mind, Melancholy and The Strange Adventures of Antona Logan Ding, and the last one was later adapted into the novel Nausea (1938).

Sartre is a representative figure of post-war existentialism philosophy in France. The main philosophical works are Imagination, Being and Nothingness, Existentialism as Humanism, Critique of Dialectical Reason and Some Problems in Methodology. These works have become important ideological materials for the development and change of bourgeois philosophy in the twentieth century.

Sartre brought profound philosophy into the creation of novels and plays. His novella Nausea, collection of short stories The Wall and novel The Road to Freedom have always been regarded as masterpieces of contemporary French literature. His achievements in drama creation are higher than novels, and he wrote nine plays in his life, among which Fly and Interval occupy an important position in contemporary French drama. Humble Prostitute is a political drama, which exposes the persecution of blacks by American racists and places deep expectations on the awakening of ordinary people who oppose racial discrimination. This drama embodies his existentialism as a humanitarian thought.

From 65438 to 0955, Sartre and his wife and writer simone de beauvoir visited China. 1964, the Swedish Academy Literature Prize was awarded to Sartre Nobel Prize in Literature, who declined politely on the grounds that he did not accept all official honors. 1980 died in Paris on April 5th. The novel Nausea and the plays Flies, Begging for Gap and Obedient Prostitute have been translated into Chinese.

Existentialist Marxism

In 1950s and 1960s, Sartre tried to change this direction of existentialism philosophy and turned to the study of Marxism, so as to transform existentialism with Marxism and make it a positive philosophy of life. Therefore, in his works such as Critique of Dialectical Reason, Sartre established an existential Marxist ideological system.

Existential Marxism is not Marxism, but a variant of existentialism in essence. However, Sartre read a lot of Marx's works when expounding his existential Marxism, and was once conquered by the profoundness of Marx's thought, and often called himself a Marxist, which caused a long-term misunderstanding in academic circles. It seems that Sartre is a Marxist who supplements Marxism with existentialism. Indeed, Sartre once said that there is an "empty field of human studies" in Marxism, and existentialism can inject fresh blood into Marxism. In fact, Sartre's works are just the opposite. He was an existentialist thinker from beginning to end. What he did after the 1950s and 1960s was to try to "inject" existentialism with Marxism.

It should be admitted that from Kierkegaard to Sartre himself, existential Marxism is different from the traditional existentialism represented by Being and Nothing. In Critique of Dialectical Reason and other works, Sartre put individual people into historical development and social environment for investigation, but because his basic position is existentialism, he can't form a correct conclusion in this kind of investigation, that is, he can't find the road of comprehensive liberation of people in historical progress. Of course, Sartre put forward the viewpoint of historical totality, and thought that human practice included historical totality. However, Sartre believes that the totality of history is also the alienation of human beings, and the so-called historical development and social progress are nothing more than the infinite circulating space of historical totality and human alienation. Therefore, when Sartre talks about the totality of history, he is a utopian romantic; When he thinks about human alienation, he is also a depressed pessimist. Moreover, getting into this dilemma is also a kind of pain and a manifestation of existentialism. It is in this sense that we say that Sartre has never left the theoretical design of existentialism in his life.

Sartre's Social Group Theory

When Sartre inspected social groups, he did not explore the occurrence and development of every social phenomenon from a historical perspective like historical materialism. Sartre's starting point is the individual. Sartre believes that groups are formed by the threat of external pressure, and because of this threat, everyone sees himself in others. For example, in June 1789, when the French king moved his army to Paris for fear of violence, those Parisians who only thought of themselves and were suspicious of each other suddenly realized that the king did not trust them, that is, the whole Paris masses were a whole, and everyone regarded the threat to himself as a threat to everyone else, realizing that in Paris surrounded by the king's army, everyone's fate was the same as that of all people. Therefore, they stopped robbing bakeries and armories, thus arming themselves against the king. Since the king's army has entered Paris, their primary goal is to conquer the Bastille, the king's fortress in Paris. Therefore, the group formed by Paris citizens when they captured the Bastille was entirely due to the external factors of the king's army. In this group, "the connection between individuals, in its various realistic forms, is the direct discovery of people's own connection with others." [1] It is the danger of * * * that unifies scattered individual practices into a whole.

Sartre believes that the group formed by the people in Paris in the face of the danger of * * * is a "fusion group", which is characterized by the unity of goals and actions, that is, "Go to the Bastille!" At the same time, the unified goal and action did not obliterate the individual's personality and freedom. On the contrary, unified goals and actions are the embodiment of personal practice and free will. In the "fusion group", human nature is revived and restored freely. In the action of denying absolute monarchy, the whole Paris citizens formed a * * * person. Therefore, Sartre said: "The main feature of the integrated group is the sudden restoration of freedom." [2] That is to say, in the integrated group, "every individual responds in a new way: not as an individual or the other, but as an individual embodiment of the same person." [3] Fusion groups are only products under certain conditions. In the historical development, the integration group cannot exist for a long time. Once the goal of * * * is achieved, the integration group disappears instantly, the Bastille is captured, and the citizens of Paris can disband and go home. Because the integrated group will inevitably face the future destroyed by personal freedom while restoring personal freedom. Everyone's personal freedom can only be combined in an instant. If the form of group is maintained, individual freedom will not be publicized, and maintaining individual freedom can only deny the group. In other words, individuals can freely form a fusion group or freely quit this group. Integrating groups is only a temporary effect of this duality of individual freedom.

Bai Jia ping pin

Sartre's centenary birthday: an exciting cultural phenomenon

Author: Huang Zhengping Source: Outlook Oriental Weekly

/kloc-at the beginning of 0/940, France and Britain declared war on Germany, and the front line in Alsace, France was already tense. The german position is only a few kilometers away from here, and the two sides may exchange fire at any time. In the French army barracks, a soldier in his thirties is immersed in his notebook, writing and writing, and the world around him seems to be nonexistent to him. At that time, in order to save precious paper, notebooks were so dense that I couldn't find a gap of one centimeter. One year's first-line career, he has 15 books covered with ink like this. These words were published by the author in the name of a notebook, with as many as 600 pages. Judging from the content, there are random thoughts, philosophies, novel outlines and plot ideas in the notes, which can be said to be varied and unlimited. This man who is close to "writing fanaticism" is Sartre, who will become a leading figure in French literature in the future.

The spring in Paris this year has deeply branded his mark.

Sartre was born on February1,1June 905, and died on April 15, 1980. This year is his 100 birthday and the 25th anniversary. From March to June, there are many commemorative activities in France and all over the world. On June 2 1, a formal commemorative ceremony will be held at Sorbonne University in Paris, and there will be a large-scale seminar for two consecutive days. The National Library of France has held an exhibition entitled "Sartre and His Times" for half a year since March. Monaco also issued Sartre commemorative stamps worth 1. 1 1 Euro. In France, the front pages of newspapers and magazines can always see famous photos of Sartre holding cigars; Radio and TV stations broadcast special programs continuously. Spring has arrived, there is such an atmosphere, and there is a saying of "Sartre's Spring".

Sartre's heyday was in the fifties and sixties. Since the late 1970s, there have been more and more criticisms of him, but his shadow still covers a large area, which can be seen from the richness of today's centenary celebrations.

So, what's the most exciting thing about Sartre today? Judging from people's memories and talks, the following points are worth mentioning:

"Thinking Machine" and "Writing Machine"

Sartre lost his father at an early age, and his life was hard, short and ugly. He was called "little man" by everyone, but it didn't have any influence on his inferiority complex. On the contrary, he is naturally pretentious. When he was young, he set himself a unique goal in life: "I want to be Spinoza and Stendhal at the same time." In other words, you should be a first-class philosopher and a first-class writer. And this has actually become a reality.

1936, he published the book Imagination, criticizing the traditional thinking theory in images with Husserl's phenomenology. His views are unpretentious, his writing is bold and confident, and he has shown the demeanor of a great philosopher.

1938, disgusting. This novel is a masterpiece of modernist literature, which is anti-traditional, with philosophical characters and internalized plots.

Later, Sartre continued to alternately publish philosophical works and literary works:

Wall (novel, 1939), imagination (philosophical works, 1940). This book is the companion of imagination (1936), flying (1943), being and nothingness (1943) and interval (1944).

These works are undoubtedly excellent classics in the field of philosophy and literature in the 20th century. Jean Luc Nancy, a French philosophy professor, recently wrote in Le Monde that Sartre is a double-faced god that has never appeared since ancient times: no philosopher travels in the ocean of literature like him, and no writer practices philosophy on a large scale like him; We can't understand that logical thinking and image deduction, two completely different ways of thinking, can be clearly displayed in the same quill pen without hindrance.

In this regard, Sartre's opponents do not agree, thinking that everything Sartre has done is to show people what a genius he is.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, no one can deny that Sartre is a diligent person. He never stopped writing all his life, except for a few years before his death because he was semi-blind. Unlike many people who regard pen farming as a kind of hard labor, Sartre regards it as a pleasure, a need and a basic support point of life. He said, "I can't let myself see a blank sheet of paper without the desire to write something on it."

When Paris was occupied by the Germans, Sartre liked to write in cafes. He arrives at the cafe at 9 o'clock every morning and starts to work until noon. After going out for dinner and rest, return to the cafe at 2 pm and continue to work until 8 pm. After dinner, I will receive my friends there. His existential philosophy was actually formed in a cafe. It is said that the atmosphere in that coffee shop is especially suitable for his uncontrollable thoughts and pen farming.

This coffee shop is called "Cafe of Flowers", which is located at a crossroads in Saint-Germain Street. Cafe, as the birthplace of existentialism, has become one of the scenic spots in Paris and the favorite place for nostalgic intellectuals. Last year, I accompanied several visiting professors from Fudan University to this cafe for coffee. In the small shop, there is a strong smell of black coffee. I saw a few circles of people at a table, discussing their own manuscripts in a low voice, and others were burying their heads in writing. This is obviously a cultural club. The professors said with emotion: "Sartre's breath is still there." This place can be said to be the witness of Sartre's struggle and its influence.

"Existence precedes essence": a spirit of joining WTO

However, Sartre's charm lies in his almost fanatical spirit of joining the WTO. The famous formula of existentialism is that existence comes before essence. Sartre applied this to his outlook on life. He views people's social participation in this way: the birth of people is the result of a few drops of semen sown by ancestors, and whether they are born or not is completely accidental; So people's existence is not planned according to some pre-designed route. People should be "free" to become the masters of their own lives, should fully participate in the society in which they live, and decide their own destiny with their own actions.

This spirit naturally made him critical of the society at that time, but expressed great support for the social revolution. His practice also made him a great social activist and political idealist at that time.

In the 1940s, Sartre took part in the anti-fascist movement on the battlefield and in the literary world. In 1950s, Sartre became increasingly close to * * * and was one of the most active advocates of western socialism. In 1960s, Sartre and his lifelong girlfriend Simon de Bova appeared on the most sensitive front in the world:1They were in Cuba during the Caribbean crisis in 1960; 1967 They were in Gaza when the seventh Middle East War broke out. 1964, Sartre shocked the world with his extraordinary behavior. This is a rejection of Nobel Prize in Literature. This is the first person in history who consciously refused the Nobel Prize (two people were forced to refuse for political reasons before). In the late 1960s, there were many student unrest and labor unrest in France, and Sartre was always the spiritual leader in the movement.

In a word, Sartre has been in the heyday of French intellectuals for a long time and is the undisputed uncrowned king. Some people call him "the boss". Derrida recalled the scene and said: "At that time, we young people had only one way, and that was to follow him (Sartre)."

However, Sartre's pursuit of joining the WTO is limited to the spiritual field. Out of proportion to his diligence and reputation, his material life is extremely simple. In this respect, he is the essence before existence. His income is not small, sometimes he even has millions of money in his pocket. However, he is willing to give alms, does not understand brokers, and regards wealth as dirt. No amount of money can last for a few days. That year I went to Paris to write a thesis and went to see Sartre's last residence in Paris. 29 Edgar Keane Street, 10 Floor. You can see the graveyard where he sleeps from upstairs. It's a small suite called "Miserable". Now that the tenants have changed, there is no sign of this great thinker. I know that even if it remains the same, there is nothing worth noting in it: the oldest furniture, several ashtrays and half a shelf of books. But I still wandered upstairs and downstairs for a long time. This person who was extremely indifferent to things outside his life did not care how people remembered him after death. Perhaps this is also his charm.

"Sartre phobia" and others

Extremes must be reversed. Too powerful, the way to stop people? Over time, it caused a rebound; Or times have changed, and the theory is no longer in line with reality. In a word, Sartre was criticized more and more in his later years and after his death, thinking that he made many mistakes. For example, blindly supporting rebellion, leading young people into violent astray, extremism, and so on. These criticisms are getting worse and worse, and some even completely deny Sartre: he is nothing politically and academically. At the same time, Sartre's private life, the feud between Sartre and Camus and Maurice Melo-Ponty, two great contemporary writers, have also become the focus of comments. Many times, when things are emotional, they are no longer academic arguments. People call this completely defamatory phenomenon "Sartre phobia". In a sense, Sartre is the victim of his fame and prestige.

In 2000, I went to Sorbonne University in Paris to attend the seminar on the 20th anniversary of Sartre's death organized by Sartre Research Association. I was deeply impressed by the words of Bernard Henry Levy, known as the "new philosopher". He said, "I don't know if I like Sartre, just as I don't know if I don't like Sartre." This reflects the reality that people are at a loss in front of a controversial figure.

In 2000, just the 20th anniversary of Sartre's death, there was a mild Sartre fever in France. There are more than a dozen monographs and monographs about Sartre, and there are still mixed opinions. At that time, there were still many praises on the left and few on the right. Among them, Bernard Henri Levy, an influential left-wing representative, is a philosopher and social activist who became popular in 1980s and 1990s, and is also one of the most popular scholars at present. From June, 5438 to October, 2000 10, he published a thick monograph "Sartre Century", holding that the 20th century in France was Sartre Century, and the French ideological circle was dominated by Sartre. Jean-Fran ois re buel, a famous senior journalist and political commentator, was born in 1924, and published a thin monograph "Great Performance". In the book, Sartre, as a fellow traveler in France, went further left than France, rejected all dissidents and entered Stalinism. Although it ended in tragedy, his negative influence on France in the 20th century was too great. For the high praise of these two celebrities, some people are in favor and some are against it. If Levi is in his prime, giving speeches everywhere and doesn't mind being booed by cakes, then there is no need to take the macro theory of octogenarians seriously. It can only show that Sartre is still a controversial figure. When you talk about him, you will have the argument of blushing and thick neck.

Until now, the debate continues. When Sartre's centenary birthday and 25th anniversary came, we saw colorful comments: praise, criticism, refutation, well-meaning ridicule and malicious ridicule, which turned Sartre into a thousand people. The special issue of Express, one of the most influential magazines in France, is based on the following sentence: "Is Sartre always wrong?" This raises the question of how to treat Sartre's "mistakes" today.

Sartre once wrote a philosophical essay in an American magazine, which wrote: "I want to create a scrambled egg, hoping it can express the nothingness of existence." But it's not like this when it's cooked. It only smells like cheese. I looked at it on the plate, but it didn't answer me. I tried to eat in the dark, but it didn't help at all. Malraux (Sartre's contemporary French writer) suggested that I add Chili powder. "Today's Sartre is like a plate of scrambled eggs. People put a lot of ingredients in it, and it is difficult to find its original taste again.

Sartre and China

Sartre and Bova visited China in September 1955, and received high-standard reception. On September 29th, he attended the National Day reception held by Zhou Enlai in the Great Hall of the People. 1October 10, boarded the Tiananmen Gate and attended the National Day ceremony. Mao Zedong and Chen Yi received them respectively. Sartre himself didn't comment much on this visit to China except for some special interviews, but Bova wrote a book called Long March, which I guess is a division of their work. It is said that Bova often stays up late to write this book, which makes his eyes red and swollen, which makes Sartre very distressed. After this book was written, it caused great controversy in the west because of its enthusiastic praise for the China Revolution.

But at that time, China mainly regarded Sartre as a revolutionary and basically didn't understand his theory and creation. Mr. Dennis Berdeaux Lai, a Sartre expert who teaches at Geneva University, told me such a detail: when Sartre met with famous writers such as Mao Dun and Ding Ling in Beijing, because neither of them had read the other's works, everyone had to talk about food.

After 1980s, Sartre's works were widely introduced in China. That is to say, when Sartre was silent in the west, China people began to study him with great enthusiasm and reverence, which has been maintained to this day. At least when Yu Yu Qiu wrote Boundless Passers-by in recent years, he wrote Sartre as the supreme person. Some scholars lament that people are already a spent force at home, and we are just making up lessons; Sartre here is not Sartre there.

But I think our interest in Sartre is not just to know something about others, but to have our own intentions. Sartre's theory played an irreplaceable positive role in China's ideological emancipation movement at that time. Western criticism of Sartre may not be important to readers in China. This is why Sartre will always be an idol in China, and no one will criticize him with a straight face despite the noise outside. Acceptance is by no means plagiarism. After accepting it, things will be different. This is not uncommon in the history of world culture: a myth that collapsed in one's own country took root and blossomed in another land.

But the real scientific method may be the complementarity between China and the West, so that the western classics can be organically blended with China culture. For example, some sinologists have suggested that Sartre's particularly important thought about "nothing" can be used to effectively and scientifically explain the fundamental and ambiguous concept of "nothing" in Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophy; On the other hand, if Sartre's nothingness has no theoretical development prospect in the west, it is because there is no deep soil nourished by Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophy. In this sense, is it necessary for western philosophy to learn from China's philosophy? Such problems are inevitable and always fascinating.

Paris is the scenery of early summer, and the wind by the Seine River is faint with Sartre's unique breath, sometimes light and sometimes thick, as if it were far away.