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In Our Time: Philosophy

Sartre

In Our Time: Philosophy

BBC

History

4.51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2004

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Jean-Paul Sartre, the French novelist, playwright, and philosopher who became the king of intellectual Paris and a focus of post war politics and morals. Sartre's own life was coloured by jazz, affairs, Simone de Beauvoir and the intellectual camaraderie of Left Bank cafes. He maintained an extraordinary output of plays, novels, biographies, and philosophical treatises as well as membership of the communist party and a role in many political controversies. He produced some wonderful statements: "my heart is on the left, like everyone else's", and "a human person is what he is not, not what he is", and, most famously "we are condemned to be free". Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how Sartre's novels and plays express his ideas and what light Sartre's life brings to bear on his philosophy and his philosphy on his life. With Jonathan Rée, philosopher and historia; Benedict O'Donohoe, Principal Lecturer in French at the University of the West of England and Secretary of the UK Society for Sartrean Studies; Christina Howells, Professor of French at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wadham College.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thanks for down learning the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.

0:09.0

I hope you enjoy the programme.

0:11.0

Hello Jean Paul Sartre, French novelist, playwright and philosopher was king of post-war

0:17.5

alternative café society Paris where the intellectuals regrouped.

0:21.4

He was a mid- century focus and force of intellectual

0:25.0

influence. Sart's own life was colored by jazz, affairs,

0:28.8

someone de Beauvoir, an extraordinary output of plays, novels, biographies,

0:32.4

philosophical treaties, and the

0:34.0

camaraderie of intellectual discussions in the cafes on the left bank of the San.

0:38.1

He was also politically active in many major controversies.

0:41.4

He produced many quotable lines. For instance, a human person is what

0:45.1

he is not, not what he is, or we are condemned to be free. How do his novels and plays carry

0:51.3

such ideas?

0:52.6

And what light does Sartel life bring to bear

0:54.8

on his influential philosophy?

0:56.3

And how did he put his ideas into practice?

0:58.8

With me to discuss Jean Paul Sartre

1:00.8

is Christina Howe's professor of French at the University of Oxford and a

1:04.2

fellow of Waddham College. Benedict Adonahue principal lecturer in French at the

1:08.2

University of the West of England and secretary of the UK Society for Satrian

1:11.8

studies and the philosopher and historian Jonathan Ray.

1:15.0

Jonathan, can we look first at Sats as we're going to talk about Sats,

...

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