Apostles of Sartre

the long version

Apostles of Sartre takes a broad look at the impact of Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism on American philosophy. It begins with philosophers' introduction to Sartrean existentialism in 1945 and traces their response through 1963, when Sartre merged existentialism with Marxism. Apostles of Sartre explores the social and cultural factors that shaped American philosophers' reactions to Sartre's existentialism. Fulton shows, for example, how the lack of early translations and American philosophers' unfamiliarity with Continental philosophy made it difficult for them to appreciate Sartreanism's complexities. She explains how existentialism's status as a foreign idea entering an established discipline affected its course. Because existentialism was new, it attracted young philosophers interested in novel ideas and looking for something that matched their generation's experiences. Apostles of Sartre is a clear and concise exploration of an important chapter in the history of ideas. It will appeal to philosophers and students of philosophy. It will also appeal to all those who remember the importance of Sartre's philosophical and literary works in the 1960s.