Being and Nothingness - by Jean-Paul Sartre (Paperback)

About the Book

"... one of the greatest philosophical works of the twentieth century. In it, Sartre offers nothing less than a brilliant and radical account of the human condition. The English philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch wrote to a friend of "the excitement - I remember nothing like it since the days of discovering Keats and Shelley and Coleridge". What gives our lives significance, Sartre argues in Being and Nothingness, is not pre-established for us by God or nature but is something for which we ourselves are responsible. Combining this with the unsettling view that human existence is characterized by radical freedom and the inescapability of choice, Sartre introduces us to a cast of ideas and characters that are part of philosophical legend: anguish; the 'bad faith' of the memorable waiter in the cafâe; sexual desire; and the 'look' of the other, brought to life by Sartre's famous description of someone looking through a keyhole. Above all, by arguing that we alone create our values and that human relationships are characterized by hopeless conflict, Sartre paints a stark and controversial picture of our moral universe and one that resonates strongly today. This new translation includes a helpful Translator's Introduction, notes on the translation, a comprehensive index and a foreword by Richard Moran."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Revisit one of the most important pillars in modern philosophy with this new English translation--the first in more than 60 years--of Jean-Paul Sartre's seminal treatise on existentialism. "This is a philosophy to be reckoned with, both for its own intrinsic power and as a profound symptom of our time" (The New York Times).

In 1943, Jean-Paul Sartre published his masterpiece, Being and Nothingness, and laid the foundation of his legacy as one of the greatest twentieth century philosophers. A brilliant and radical account of the human condition, Being and Nothingness explores what gives our lives significance.

In a new and more accessible translation, this foundational text argues that we alone create our values and our existence is characterized by freedom and the inescapability of choice. Far from being an internal, passive container for our thoughts and experiences, human consciousness is constantly projecting itself into the outside world and imbuing it with meaning.

Now with a new foreword by Harvard professor of philosophy Richard Moran, this clear-eyed translation guarantees that the groundbreaking ideas that Sartre introduced in this resonant work will continue to inspire for generations to come.

Review Quotes

"A new translation of Being and Nothingness has been long overdue. Sarah Richmond has done an excellent job of translating and clarifying Sartre's magnum opus, making its rich content accessible to a wider audience."--Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

"Sarah Richmond's marvellously clear and thoughtful new translation brings Sartre's rich, infuriating, endlessly fertile masterpiece to a whole new English-language readership."--Sarah Bakewell, author of At the Existentialist Café

"Sarah Richmond's translation of this ground-zero existentialist text is breathtaking. Having developed a set of brilliant translation principles, laid out carefully in her introductory notes, she has produced a version of Sartre's magnum opus that - finally! - renders his challenging philo­sophical prose comprehensible to the curious general reader and his most compelling phenomenological descriptions and analyses luminous and thrilling for those of us who have studied Being and Nothingness for years."--Nancy Bauer, Tufts University

"Sartre's philosophy will always be important. Being and Nothingness is not an easy read but Sarah Richmond makes it accessible in English to the general reader. Her translation is exemplary in its clarity."--Richard Eyre

"This fine new translation provides us with as crisp a rendering as possi­ble of Sartre's complex prose. Richmond's introduction, and a panoply of informative notes, also invite readers to share with her the intricacies of the task of translation and assist in grasping many of the conceptual vocabularies and nuances of this vital text."--Sonia Kruks, author of Simone de Beauvoir and the Politics of Ambiguity

"This is a philosophy to be reckoned with, both for its own intrinsic power and as a profound symptom of our time." -- "The New York Times"

"With its scholarly introduction, up-to-date bibliography and numer­ous footnotes, Richmond's fluent and precise translation will be an indispensable tool even for scholars able to read Sartre in French."--Andrew Leak, University College London, UK

About the Author

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was the foremost French thinker and writer of the post-WWII years. His books have exerted enormous influence in philosophy, literature, art, and politics.

Sarah Richmond is Senior Lecturer at University College London. She received her PhD in philosophy from Oxford University. She coedits the academic journal, Sartre Studies International.