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Cover of Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre

Being and Nothingness

An Essay in Phenomenological Ontology

by Jean-Paul Sartre

3/5
Washington Square Press 811 pages July 1, 1993

Sartre's magnum opus and the foundational text of existentialism. Through dense phenomenological analysis, Sartre argues that human consciousness is fundamentally free, that we are "condemned to be free," and that existence precedes essence — we define ourselves through our choices.

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Jim's Review

🐛
Okay, Jim's going to level with you — this book is DENSE. Like, "Jim needed a dictionary for the dictionary" dense. But buried in all that philosophical jargon is one of the most liberating ideas ever put to paper: you are radically free, and no excuse can change that. Sartre doesn't let you off the hook. If you can push through the difficulty, the payoff is enormous. Three worms — transformative but tough sledding.

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