Sartre 21st century: materialist reading of L'idiot de la famille

Abstract

The present essay is framed within the centenary of the birth of Jean-Paul Sartre. Today, twenty-five years after his death, those debates take place within a context that differs in many respects from that of the generation to which he belonged: the present is now marked by globalization, the European Union, ethnic and cultural conflict, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Owing to historical developments and social progress, discussion now unfolds in a world that critically re-examines the thought and legacy of the French philosopher and writer.

Our aim is to examine, from the standpoint of philosophical materialism, the philosophical components present in L’Idiot de la famille, Jean-Paul Sartre’s final major work before his death in 1980. The book is the result of a long intellectual reflection that began in his youth with his reading of Madame Bovary and remained latent throughout his career as a writer. This reflection ultimately culminated in the publication of the work during the 1970s, against the backdrop of the revolutionary events of Paris in May 1968.