First published 2004
Consciousness is a treacherous abyss. In "Imaginaire," philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre plunges into the depths of the human mind, revealing how our ability to imagine objects both as they are and as they are not holds the key to our most fundamental existential questions. As Sartre's phenomenological analysis lays bare, this capacity for nothingness - to conceive of things that are not - is the wellspring of human freedom. Yet this same freedom also traps us, as we confront the crushing weight of our own limitless possibility. Sartre's provocative vision cuts to the heart of what it means to be human, in all its maddening, liberating complexity.
Genres: philosophy, psychology, 20th-century, academic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: existential-crisis, philosophical-exploration
Period: 20th-Century
240 pages · Hardcover · Routledge