The Imaginary: A Phenomenological Psychology of the Imagination [Paperback]

Jean-Paul Sartre (Author), revised by Arlette Elkaim-Sartre (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415287553 | ISBN-13: 978-0415287555 | Publication Date: March 3, 2004 | Edition: Revised

'We may therefore conclude that imagination is not an empirical power added to consciousness, but it is the whole of consciousness as it realizes its freedom.' - Jean-Paul Sartre . Sartre's L'Imaginaire was first published in French in 1940 and in English in 1948. This new translation, the first for over fifty years, is of the recent French edition revised by Arlette Elkaim-Sartre. It corrects many important mistakes in the earlier English translation and includes a new introduction by Jonathan Webber, placing the book in a contemporary context. The Imaginary is one of Sartre's most important works and an ideal introduction to his thought. It is a brilliant and lucid examination of one supposedly simple human act: the act of imagining something. Sartre's genius is to show that between this act and the world that imagination creates, lies nothing less than a new theory of of human consciousness. The book contains Sartre's devastating criticisms of scientific psychology and he presents, for the first time, the radical theories of consciousness and human freedom that were to appear a few years later in his magnum opus, Being and Nothingness. Considering the role of the imagination and the emotions, such as disgust, Sartre argues that it is because human beings can imagine or think of things as they are not , that they are ultimately free. The Imaginary is essential reading for anyone interested in Sartre, exitentialism, phenomenology, twentieth century philosophy and philosophy of mind.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Webber is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield and a Research Associate of the Forum for European Philosophy. His research interests center on the cross-fertilization of Anglophone and European philosophy of mind and metaphysics. He earned his PhD from University College London with a study of consciousness in Sartre's early works. Arlette Elkaim-Sartre, the author's adopted daughter and literary executor, prepared this revised edition after Sartre's death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Revised edition (March 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415287553
• ISBN-13: 978-0415287555
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,553,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Novelist, playwright, and biographer Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80) is widely considered one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. His major works include "No Exit," "Nausea," "The Wall," "The Age of Reason," "Critique of Dialectical Reason," "Being and Nothingness," and "Roads to Freedom," an allegory of man's search for commitment, and not, as the man at the off-licence says, an everyday story of French country folk.