schroeder360's Full Review: Jean Paul Sartre - Being and Nothingness: An Essay...
The title is what you end up saying to yourself time after time while you read this book. As a disclaimer, I must admit two things: first, I am not an expert of philosophy; second, I did not finish this book.
I am quite fascinated with existentialism and I wanted to read a good book about it before I went away to college in the fall and had to read only stuff I was assigned ad nauseam. I was flipping through titles and authors, and I came upon this. I chose it because its subtitle is "The Principle Text of Modern Existentialism." Where better to go, right? Wrong. I, having had no previous experience with philosophy, did not have any idea what I was getting myself into.
Basically, my fault with the book is not the book's fault, but mine. I am simply too stupid for it. The language was so above me that I am ashamed to admit it, but I will submit for your review a very important sentence in which Sartre's definition of "consciousness" is given: "consciousness is a being such that in its being, its being is in question in so far as this being implies a being other than itself." The entire book reads this way. But it is remarkable how profound what he is saying really is. It is just that to find these profundities, you must sift through what seems like an interminable dense forest of prose.
As a result, I am recommending this book highly, due to the fact that it is, I'm sure, a great work of philosophy. It is probably one of the most influential works of this century. However, you must come into it with a great deal of confidence and knowledge (although, what really is knowledge...? hehe, you'll find out) to gain anything from it. I learned a lot, but I eventually got to a point when I said to myself that the struggle (the "Huh...?") was not worth the reward (the "Oh, wow!").
The often criticized philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre encompasses the dilemmas and aspirations of the individual in contemporary society. This work of p...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
A new trade edition of Sartre s magnum opus. First published in 1943, this masterpiece defines the modern condition and still holds relevance for toda...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.