Rethinking Existentialism

I studied existentialism at St Andrews in the 1970s, both in the context French literature and philosophy. It is unusual for British philosophers to engage with this tradition, so it is refreshing to read an original English contribution to this philosophy. The book proposes a new conception of existentialism through comparative analyses of the work or Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Franz Fanon (new to me), Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Jean-Paul Sartre between 1942 and 1952. I remember sitting down to read Sartre's short popular lecture, L'Existentialisme est un Humanisme, one of the key texts dating from the time when he and de Beauvoir defined existentialism as a common brand based on the key proposition that existence precedes essence. Since that time, the term has been used more loosely, and this book seeks to rectify the situation. The original definition was that 'existentialism is the ethical theory that we ought treat freedom at the core of human existence as intrinsically valuable and the foundation of all other values.' An affirmation of this position is surely critical at this time of creeping authoritarianism, as is the imperative of authenticity as an expression of inner integrity, as also advanced by Gide.

The author argues that, by 1952, Sartre had adapted this view and adopted that of de Beauvoir as his original position was not entirely coherent with respect to the meaning of essence. His point was to put the emphasis on choice, but here is where Merleau-Ponty's concept of sedimentation is helpful, whereby our interaction with our environment and context 'becomes embedded in the intuitive understanding that we rely on for action.' In other words, we are necessarily situated within a cultural tradition that is bound to influence our sense of identity and therefore our choices and values in a dynamic fashion, as highlighted by Fanon with respect to race – something the others had not considered a few years earlier. The book uses a number of texts to elaborate its argument, also bringing in the influence of psychoanalysis and collective consciousness. There is an interesting tension with Aristotle's eudaemonistic approach to human flourishing which presupposes that we can act according to an intrinsic nature denied by the existentialists. For them, authenticity is the key moral imperative, though for me this entails remaining true to a deeper sense of spiritual purpose that transcends my social identity and which has to be remembered in a Platonic sense.