SARTRE AND THE WILY CONSCIENCE

Abstract

"In each era and its prevailing historical conditions, figures surge to public light whose thought and action represent the human consciousness" declares the Mexican philosopher Gabriel Vargas-Lozano in this article, in which he renders homage to Jean Paul Sartre to celebrate his one-hundredth birthday. This provides a magnificent opportunity to review the life and work of such a famous intellectual, from his dedication to existentialism, his support of the movement of May, 1968, and the flowering of his literary creativity, to his Maoists adventures and his critique of the establishment.