A Commentary on Jean-Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness (May Reprint)

This book covers section by section Sartre's Being and Nothingness. Unlike Sartre's, it is not a large work. It provides useful background material, but I have used it primarily as a summary of Sartre's work. I recommend it to anyone tackling Sartre's tome on their own.

Sartre's philosophy reduces to a radical dichotomy of por soi and en soi. The logic for this radical dichotomy is his ontological argument. The ontological argument is the springboard for all of Sartre's later deductions. He is quite faithful to his principle, derived from the ontological argument. In this book, the author gives an excellent and lucid exposition of Sartre's reasoning on the ontological argument and shows how his entire corpus is derived from it. He shows that Sartre's lack of an ethic is grounded in Hume's understanding of personal identity, that is found in Hume's book, A Treatise of Human Nature. If experience is as radically discontinuous as Hume states it, then we cannot generalize from experience and therefore cannot formulate ethical norms. One can see the philosophical basis for Satre's Nausea when one understands the ontological argument. In fact, it is a precursor of deconstructionist understanding of words and language. Sartre ultimately resorts to a utilitarian ethical theory which, quite frankly, cannot be reconciled with his overall work. Although I adamantly disagree with Sartre, this book operates as a perfect solution for those who have difficulty understanding him.

If you find yourself extremely frustrated in your attempt to plow through Sartre's massive BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, there is simply no better guide than Catalano's commentary. No first time reader of Sartre's book should be without this guide. Catalano does not shy away from the difficult and abstruse points of BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, but helps the reader understand Sartre's rather peculiar style of phenomenology. If one wants to understand one of the landmark works of 20th century Continental philosphy, one needs to read the original text. However, most nonacademic readers, and even most professional American philosophers, lack the crucial background to truly grasp what Sartre is attemtping to accomplish. Before reading BEING AND NOTHINGNESS, I recomend reading several of Sartre's literary works, and two shorter philosophical texts, THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THE EGO and THEORY OF THE EMOTIONS. Then expect to spend several months (at least if you have to work for a living) with Sartre's treatise. Be sure to have Catalano's book by your side. It will give you both the necessary background for understanding the text, as well as lucid commentary on some very difficult passages of Sartre's work. In the end, do not shy away from the original text. Even if you find yourself unsympathetic to Sartre's ideas and style of philosophy, I believe you will find that Sartre has some rather vivid insights about human existence.

A truely useful book for those about to take on the weight of B&N. The most difficult concepts are clearly explored in an inteligent and accessable style. The author is neither a Sartre fanatic worshiping his idol or a disalussioned priest out to do the giant work harm. A truely well balanced and useful book and unlike so many other commentaries this is no dry bone sucking exercise, you can taste the flesh.

This book is a must-have for anyone studying Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'. It breaks down each chapter of Sartre's masterpiece into simplified explanations, making what some may find extremely difficult to comprehend a lot more accessible. I highly recommend it.

For me it’s more than a mere commentary. It takes each section of Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and focuses the reader on what’s salient and important about the section and provides a clearer understanding about that section than by simply attempting to read Being and Nothingness without any prior reference to Sartre’s brand of phenomenological, existential ontology.