Hope Now: The 1980 Interviews

Sartre, Jean-Paul; Lévy, Benny

ISBN 10: 0226476308 / ISBN 13: 9780226476308

Edité par University Of Chicago Press, 1996

A propos de cet article

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N° de réf. du vendeur c316105

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Hope Now: The 1980 Interviews
• Éditeur: University Of Chicago Press
• Date de parution: 1996
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0226476308
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780226476308
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: New
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Philosophy

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

In March of 1980, just a month before Sartre's death, "Le Nouvel Observateur" published a series of interviews between the blind and debilitated philosopher and his young assistant, Benny Levy. Readers were scandalized and denounced the interviews as distorted, inauthentic and even fraudulent. They seemed to portray a Sartre who had abandoned his leftist convictions and rejected his most intimate friends, including Simone de Beauvoir. This man had cast aside his own fundamental beliefs in the primacy of individual consciousness, the inevitability of violence and Marxism, embracing instead a messianic Judaism. No, Sartre's supporters argued, it was his interlocutor, the ex-radical, the orthodox, ultra-right-wing activist who had twisted the words and thought of an ailing Sartre to his own ends. However, shortly before his death, Sartre confirmed the authenticity of the interviews and their puzzling content. Since then, Sartre scholars have sought to unravel and understand these interviews. Presented in this translation, the interviews are framed by two essays by Benny Levy himself, accompanied by an introduction by Ronald Aronson. Placing the interviews in proper biographical and philosophical perspective, Aronson demonstrates that the thought of both Sartre and Levy reveals multiple intentions that, taken together, nevertheless confirm and add to Sartre's overall philosophy.

Présentation de l'éditeur

In March of 1980, Le Nouvel Observateur published the final interviews between the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, then blind and debilitated, and his young assistant, Benny Levy. Readers immediately denounced the interviews as distorted and fraudulent for portraying a Sartre who had abandoned his leftist convictions, rejected his most intimate friends, and cast aside his fundamental beliefs in favor of a messianic Judaism. Sartre's supporters argued that it was his orthodox interlocutor, Levy, who had twisted the words of the ailing philosopher. Yet, shortly before his death, Sartre confirmed the authenticity of the interviews and their puzzling content. Here presented in translation, the interviews are framed by two provocative essays by Benny Levy, accompanied by a comprehensive introduction from noted Sartre authority Ronald Aronson, which places the interviews in biographical and philosophical perspective to demonstrate how they confirm and contribute to Sartre's overall philosophy. This absorbing volume at last contextualizes and elucidates the final thoughts of a brilliant and influential mind.