Famous Thinkers Camus and Sartre
Famous Thinkers: Camus and Sartre
Camus and Sartre, Nobel Laureates of 1957 and 1964 respectively, were both of French descent and were authors of considerable influence during the era of World War II. Creative thinking is the process of generating new ideas that work as well or better as previous ideas, and critical thinking skills facilitate the ability to make reasoned judgments about problems and situations. Camus and Sartre are considered to be great thinkers, both creatively and critically, and their thinking processes focus on taking necessary criticisms into account, applying curiosity, and avoiding assumptions (Ruggiero, 2009).
Contributions to Society
Camus and Sartre met in Nazi-occupied Paris at the height of World War II at the June 1943 opening of Sartre’s play, The Flies. By this time, both men were public figures. Sartre’s novel, Nausea, regarding his views on life’s meaninglessness, had been published five years earlier, and his existentialist tract, Being and Nothingness, was about to be released onto the public. As for the younger, Camus, both his first novel, The Stranger, and his philosophical piece, The Myth of Sisyphus, had come out within the previous year to high acclaim (Aronson, 2005).
Even before the two met, they had reviewed each other’s books. Camus had praised Nausea as well as a collection of Sartre’s short fiction for their demonstration of the absurdity of existence. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus would offer his own perception of the freedom that comes from accepting a godless. Camus’ appeal that life is what one makes of it without fear of eternity registered powerfully with Sartre. In an intense and lengthy review of Camus’s The Stranger, Sartre sketched an author, Camus, sounding very much like Sartre himself.
Camus’ theory of the absurdity of human existence is reflected in society’s creation of a justice system that chooses to punish a murderer by murdering him (capital punishment). Sartre was an intellectual leader of
Camus and Sartre, Nobel Laureates of 1957 and 1964 respectively, were both of French descent and were authors of considerable influence during the era of World War II. Creative thinking is the process of generating new ideas that work as well or better as previous ideas, and critical thinking skills facilitate the ability to make reasoned judgments about problems and situations. Camus and Sartre are considered to be great thinkers, both creatively and critically, and their thinking processes focus on taking necessary criticisms into account, applying curiosity, and avoiding assumptions (Ruggiero, 2009).
Contributions to Society
Camus and Sartre met in Nazi-occupied Paris at the height of World War II at the June 1943 opening of Sartre’s play, The Flies. By this time, both men were public figures. Sartre’s novel, Nausea, regarding his views on life’s meaninglessness, had been published five years earlier, and his existentialist tract, Being and Nothingness, was about to be released onto the public. As for the younger, Camus, both his first novel, The Stranger, and his philosophical piece, The Myth of Sisyphus, had come out within the previous year to high acclaim (Aronson, 2005).
Even before the two met, they had reviewed each other’s books. Camus had praised Nausea as well as a collection of Sartre’s short fiction for their demonstration of the absurdity of existence. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus would offer his own perception of the freedom that comes from accepting a godless. Camus’ appeal that life is what one makes of it without fear of eternity registered powerfully with Sartre. In an intense and lengthy review of Camus’s The Stranger, Sartre sketched an author, Camus, sounding very much like Sartre himself.
Camus’ theory of the absurdity of human existence is reflected in society’s creation of a justice system that chooses to punish a murderer by murdering him (capital punishment). Sartre was an intellectual leader of
References: Aronson, R. (2005, June-December). Camus versus Sartre: The unresolved conflict. Sartre Studies International, 11(1/2), 302-10. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Gale database. Camus, A. (1988). After Hiroshima: Between hell and reason. Philosophy Today, 32(1), 77-78. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from ProQuest database. Camus, A., & Van den Hoven, A. (2001, December). Democracy is an exercise in modesty. Sartre Studies International, 7(2), 12-14. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Gale database. Ruggiero, V. R. (2009). A guide to critical and creative thought, (9th ed.). [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. New York: Pearson Longman. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, PHL458—Creative Minds and Critical Thinking. Sartre, J.-P. (1999). There is no human nature. Opposing Viewpoints: Human Nature. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Gale database. Scruton, R. (2005, June 25). The power of negative thinking: Roger Scruton says that France has never recovered from Jean-Paul Sartre 's horror of the bourgeoisie and his repudiation of both Christianity and the idea of France. Spectator, 298(9229), 28-30. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Gale database.