Sartre on Violence: Curiously Ambivalent [Hardcover]

Ronald E. Santoni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

"In this well-documented, provocative work, Professor Santoni uncovers and examines the ambivalences of Sartre's treatments of violence throughout his writings. In the process he interestingly resurrects the intellectual atmosphere of mid-twentieth-century France, paying special attention to one of the most famous polemics of the time, the Sartre-Camus clash over the latter's The Rebel. The timeliness of Santoni's contribution, at a moment when the word 'terrorism' has captured everyone's attention but the idea of it often appears murky and unclear, hardly needs to be underscored." -William L. McBride, Purdue University "I do not know of anyone who has undertaken as thorough a study of both the early and later Sartre's 'curiously ambivalent' views on violence. One of the book's special strengths is that it makes significant use of Sartre's unpublished 1964 Rome Lecture as well as interviews he gave shortly before his death."-Thomas C. Anderson, Marquette University From Materialism and Revolution (1946) through Hope Now (1980), Jean-Paul Sartre was deeply engaged with questions about the meaning and justifiability of violence. In the first comprehensive treatment of Sartre's views on the subject, Ronald Santoni begins by tracing the full trajectory of Sartre's evolving thought on violence and shows how the "curious ambiguity" of freedom affirming itself against freedom in his earliest writings about violence developed into his "curiously ambivalent" position through his later writings. In the second part of the book, Santoni provides a detailed analysis of Sartre's debate with Camus in 1952 and his Rome Lecture in 1964. Santoni criticizes Sartre for scoffing at Camus's "limits" on violence while failing to articulate his own. And in the Rome Lecture, Santoni argues, Sartre still held a two-sided position: while acknowledging conditions for any legitimate use of terror, Sartre failed to show persuasively how revolutionary killing could be a vehicle for overcoming mass alienation or effecting the "new" humanity he sought.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Across the years and through a number of writings that exhibit 'an unsteady but tested line of continuity, development and coherence,' Sartre came to realize that violence is at once freedom-affirming and freedom-destroying a particularly uncomfortable situation for a philosopher of freedom with quasi-utopian social ideals. This insightful analysis of Sartre's 'curiously ambivalent' understanding of violence and its justification is the most thorough study of this important topic that we are like to have for a long time. --Thomas R. Flynn, Emory University

Professor Santoni has provided the reader with a clearly written and comprehensive study of Sartre's views on violence, including a detailed reflection on Sartre's relation to Camus on this topic. Santoni's central theme is Sartre's reluctance both to condemn the occasional necessity of oppressed people to use violence against their oppressors, and to grant the status of moral approval to this use of violence. While not himself approving of this 'curious ambivalence,' Santoni acknowledges that, given Sartre's consistent and unequivocal support of the marginalized people of the world in their pursuit for a more dignified life, Sartre's 'occasional bow to violence is at least understandable.' Santoni's important book is required reading for future work on this topic. --Joseph Catalano, Kean University of New Jersey

In this well-documented, provocative work, Professor Santoni uncovers and examines the ambivalence of Sartre's treatments of violence throughout his writings. In the process he interestingly resurrects the intellectual atmosphere of mid-twentieth-century France, paying special attention to one of the most famous polemics of the time, the Sartre-Camus clash over the latter's The Rebel. The timeliness of Santoni's contribution, at a moment when the word 'terrorism' has captured everyone's attention but the idea of it often appears murky and unclear, hardly needs to be underscored. --William L. McBride, Purdue University --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Ronald E. Santoni is Maria Theresa Barney Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Denison University and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. His previous books include Bad Faith, Good Faith, and Authenticity in Sartre's Early Philosophy (1995).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 179 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271023007
• ISBN-13: 978-0271023007
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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