Sartre, Imagination and Dialectical Reason: Creating Society as a Work of Art

Austin Hayden Smidt analyzes Jean-Paul Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason to ground a logical framework for exploring the paradox of freedom in politics. He seeks to develop an historical and structural heuristic to enable humans to transform their world and create themselves.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 302 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

The concept of freedom in politics is a subject of ongoing debates, with questions surrounding our ability to choose and the influence of our material conditions on our actions. Some argue for a hybrid approach, while others suggest that we are either fully determined or completely free. Moreover, the question of how we understand ourselves as creators of history becomes problematic when freedom itself is considered a complex concept. In this text, Austin Hayden Smidt examines an often overlooked text by Jean-Paul Sartre, Critique of Dialectical Reason, in order to establish a logical framework for exploring this paradox. Sartre's text aimed to develop a historical and structural heuristic that could be used by future theorists and activists to assess the challenges faced by different milieux of capitalist life. Through this heuristic, Sartre sought to provide an orientation that would enable humans to transform their world and create themselves simultaneously.

However, the stylistic complexities of the text and a general consensus among previous interpreters have hindered the full exploration of Sartre's ideas. This book aims to set a new course and foster further collaboration, as we work together to create society as a work of art. By examining the text through a fresh lens, we can gain a deeper understanding of Sartre's vision and explore the possibilities for positive change in our world.

Weight: 413g
Dimension: 219 x 154 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538153079