Apostles of Sartre: Advocates of Early Sartreanism in American Philosophy

Abstract

The philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the ideas and enthusiasms that rose like a bubble to the surface of a glass of champagne in the Parisian intellectual community after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Sartreanism continued to be an important current in French philosophical life for two decades following World War II, but the same phenomenon did not repeat itself in the United States. Sartreanism was introduced in America primarily as a literary movement, and most professional philosophers met Sartreanism with skepticism; initially they did not consider it to be a philosophy of any substance. The job of promoting Sartreanism as a school to be reckoned with was taken up by a few stalwart professional philosophers. These American apostles of Sartre recognized that it presented a powerful and much needed critique of Anglo-American philosophy. The heart of the apostles' interest in Sartreanism was a shared mission to redirect American philosophical discourse towards existentialist concerns. Sartreanism entered the United States at a time when the debate over the direction of philosophy was intense. Members of the profession were so concerned about the future of philosophy at mid-century that they formed a commission to survey how philosophy was being taught and to set new goals. They published their findings in 1945 in Philosophy in America: Its Tasks and Opportunities.' Sartreanism attracted the attention of a handful of American philosophers because they worried about the profession's distance from the philosophical questions of everyday life. Contemporary American philosophy had torn away from its earlier ties to the religious and moral interests of the public; now many professional philosophers were talking only among themselves and using language few others could comprehend.