Camus & Sartre

by Aronson, Ronald

• ISBN13: 9780226000244
• ISBN10: 0226000249
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-13
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Until now it has been impossible to read the full story of the relationship between Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Their dramatic rupture at the height of the Cold War, like that conflict itself, demanded those caught in its wake to take sides rather than to appreciate its tragic complexity. Now, using newly available sources, Ronald Aronson offers the first book-length account of the twentieth century's most famous friendship and its end.Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre first met in 1943, during the German occupation of France. The two became fast friends. Intellectual as well as political allies, they grew famous overnight after Paris was liberated. As playwrights, novelists, philosophers, journalists, and editors, the two seemed to be everywhere and in command of every medium in post-war France. East-West tensions would put a strain on their friendship, however, as they evolved in opposing directions and began to disagree over philosophy, the responsibilities of intellectuals, and what sorts of political changes were necessary or possible.As Camus, then Sartre adopted the mantle of public spokesperson for his side, a historic showdown seemed inevitable. Sartre embraced violence as a path to change and Camus sharply opposed it, leading to a bitter and very public falling out in 1952. They never spoke again, although they continued to disagree, in code, until Camus's death in 1960.In a remarkably nuanced and balanced account, Aronson chronicles this riveting story while demonstrating how Camus and Sartre developed first in connection with and then against each other, each keeping the other in his sights long after their break. Combining biography and intellectual history, philosophical and political passion, Camus and Sartre will fascinate anyone interested in these great writers or the world-historical issues that tore them apart.

Author Biography

Ronald Aronson is Distinguished Professor of interdisciplinary studies at Wayne State University. He is the author or editor of seven previous books, including Sartre's Second Critique and Stay Out of Politics: A Philosopher Views South Africa, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Prologue	1	(8)
First Encounters	9	(14)
Occupation, Resistance, Liberation	23	(20)
Postwar Commitments	43	(23)
Camus's Turning-Point	66	(28)
Sartre's Turning-Point	94	(21)
Violence and Communism	115	(16)
The Explosion	131	(24)
Arranging Many Things, Performing Real Acts	155	(21)
Recovering Their Voices	176	(31)
No Exit	207	(19)
Epilogue	226	(9)
Postscript	235	(6)
Notes	241	(44)
Index	285