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Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the 20th century. His name is nearly synonymous with existentialism, a branch of philosophy whose tenets include the idea that…

Sartre, Jean-Paul

(Encyclopedia) Sartre, Jean-PaulSartre, Jean-PaulzhäN-pôl särˈtrə [key], 1905–80, French philosopher, playwright, and novelist. Influenced by German philosophy, particularly that of Heidegger, Sartre…

Beauvoir, Simone de

(Encyclopedia) Beauvoir, Simone deBeauvoir, Simone desēmônˈ də bōvwärˈ [key], 1908–86, French author. A leading exponent of existentialism, she is closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom…

essence

(Encyclopedia) essence, in philosophy, the nature of a thing. Aristotle maintained that there is a distinction between the form of a thing—its intelligible, verbally formulable character—and the…

existentialism

(Encyclopedia) existentialismexistentialismĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important…

Lanzmann, Claude

(Encyclopedia) Lanzmann, Claude, 1925–2018, French filmmaker and journalist, b. Paris. While his Jewish family was in hiding in rural France during World War II, Lanzmann joined the Resistance and…

Debray, Jules Régis

(Encyclopedia) Debray, Jules RégisDebray, Jules Régiszhül rāzhēsˈ dəbrāˈ [key], 1940–, French journalist and government official. He went to Cuba, taught philosophy at the Univ. of Havana, and, after…

Sarraute, Nathalie

(Encyclopedia) Sarraute, NathalieSarraute, Nathalienätälēˈ särōtˈ [key], 1900–1999, French novelist, b. Ivanovo, Russia, as Natasha Tcherniak; studied at the Sorbonne and Oxford. A lawyer, she joined…

Genet, Jean

(Encyclopedia) Genet, JeanGenet, JeanzhäN [key]Genet, Jean zhənāˈ [key], 1910–86, French dramatist. Deserted by his parents as an infant, Genet spent much of his early life in reformatories and…

Heidegger, Martin

(Encyclopedia) Heidegger, MartinHeidegger, Martinmärˈtēn hīˈdĕger [key], 1889–1976, German philosopher. As a student at Freiburg, Heidegger was influenced by the neo-Kantianism of Heinrich Rickert…