Situation (Sartre)
Encyclopedia
One of the first times in which Jean-Paul Sartre
discussed the concept of Situation was in his 1943 Being and Nothingness, where he famously said that
Earlier in 1939, in his short story The Childhood of a Leader, collected in his famous The Wall
, referring to a fake turd, he said that in pranks "There is more destructive power in them than in all the works of Lenin."
Another famous use of the term was in 1945, in his editorial of the first issue of Les Temps modernes
(Modern Times); arguing the principle of the responsibility of the intellectual towards his own times and the principle of an engaged literature, he summarized: "the writer is in a situation with his epoch."
An influential use of the concept was in the context of theatre, in his 1947 essay For a Theatre of Situations. A passage that has been frequently quoted is the following, in which he defines the Theater of Situations:
He then published his series Situations, with ten volumes on Literary Critiques and What Is Literature?
(1947), the third volume (1949), Portraits (1964), Colonialism and Neocolonialism
(1964), Problems of Marxism, Part 1 (1966), Problems of Marxism, Part 2 (1967), The Family Idiot (1971-2), Autour de 1968 and Melanges (1972), and Life/Situations: Essays Written and Spoken (1976).
at least since the times of the Letterist International. In January 1954, the Letterist International declared: "The new beauty will be that of THE SITUATION, that is to say, provisional and lived."
Claire Gilman called Sartre a "father figure" for the Situationist International, and wrote that "Sartre and his philosophy of the situation are fundamental to the SI's notion of everyday life authentically experienced". The relationship between Sartre's philosophy of the situation and the Situationist International is clarified by Peter Wollen
in his essay Bitter victory.
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
discussed the concept of Situation was in his 1943 Being and Nothingness, where he famously said that
Earlier in 1939, in his short story The Childhood of a Leader, collected in his famous The Wall
The Wall (Book)
The Wall by Jean-Paul Sartre, a collection of short stories published in 1939 containing the eponymous story "The Wall", is considered one of the author's greatest existentialist works of fiction...
, referring to a fake turd, he said that in pranks "There is more destructive power in them than in all the works of Lenin."
Another famous use of the term was in 1945, in his editorial of the first issue of Les Temps modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
(Modern Times); arguing the principle of the responsibility of the intellectual towards his own times and the principle of an engaged literature, he summarized: "the writer is in a situation with his epoch."
An influential use of the concept was in the context of theatre, in his 1947 essay For a Theatre of Situations. A passage that has been frequently quoted is the following, in which he defines the Theater of Situations:
He then published his series Situations, with ten volumes on Literary Critiques and What Is Literature?
What is literature?
What Is Literature? is a 1947 book by Jean-Paul Sartre. The book is divided into three topics of discussion:...
(1947), the third volume (1949), Portraits (1964), Colonialism and Neocolonialism
Colonialism and Neocolonialism
Colonialism and Neocolonialism by Jean-Paul Sartre is controversial and influential critique of French policies in Algeria...
(1964), Problems of Marxism, Part 1 (1966), Problems of Marxism, Part 2 (1967), The Family Idiot (1971-2), Autour de 1968 and Melanges (1972), and Life/Situations: Essays Written and Spoken (1976).
Guy Debord, Letterist and Situationist International
Sartre's concept of Situation was reprised by Guy DebordGuy Debord
Guy Ernest Debord was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International . He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.-Early Life:Guy Debord was born in Paris in 1931...
at least since the times of the Letterist International. In January 1954, the Letterist International declared: "The new beauty will be that of THE SITUATION, that is to say, provisional and lived."
Claire Gilman called Sartre a "father figure" for the Situationist International, and wrote that "Sartre and his philosophy of the situation are fundamental to the SI's notion of everyday life authentically experienced". The relationship between Sartre's philosophy of the situation and the Situationist International is clarified by Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen is a film theorist and writer. He studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. Both political journalist and film theorist, Wollen's Signs and Meaning in the Cinema , helped to transform the discipline of film studies by incorporating the methodology of structuralism and...
in his essay Bitter victory.
Further reading
- Sartre, Jean-Paul, «Théâtre populaire et théâtre bourgeois», Théâtre populaire, n° 15, 1955, repris dans Un théâtre de situations, 1973.