Nausea: an expression of Sartre's existential philosophy

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1969
Authors
Malhotra, Ashok Kumar
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[Honolulu]
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Abstract
By analyzing the literary devices and existential themes, this dissertation establishes the literary and philosophical significance of Sartre's Nausea. In Chapter I, the literary and philosophical assessments of Nausea are surveyed. They fall into four groups: Nausea is regarded as a philosophical novel; second, it is seen as a psychological and autobiographical work; third, it is acclaimed as a work of literature; lastly, it is dismissed as a loosely organized and second rate work of art. These opposing views establish that Nausea is both an important literary and philosophical work that demands both literary and philosophical study and criticism if the novel is to be viewed validly and comprehensively. Chapter II considers the literary devices of metaphor, humor and irony in Nausea. through these devices, Sartre conveys to the reader his message that existence in general and man in particular are superfluous, absurd, contingent, and viscous. Also, three reasons are presented for the choice of diary form for Nausea: first, Roquentin's struggle with his inner crises forces him to write his reflections in a personal diary; second, Sartre chooses this form to present Roquentin's life realistically to the reader; finally, Sartre wants to provide the reader with the experience of immediacy which only this form can. In Chapter III, the philosophical contents of the novel are made explicit. All the existential themes touched upon in the novel are brought under four general headings: existence, nausea, freedom and justification of existence. Against the positions of Jeanson and Murdoch, it is also argued that the aesthetic solution is a genuine one in the novel for two reasons: first, the whole impact of the novel lies in the solution of creating a work of fiction; second, Sartre adopts this solution for himself by choosing his career as a writer in his later life. The concluding Chapter analyzes the question of Nausea as an expression of Sartre's existential philosophy. In this connection, the views of Alberes, Barnes and Murdoch, who regard Nausea as an expression of Sartre's existential philosophy are examined. their claims are inadequate for three reasons: first, they fail to distinguish between the emotional interpretation of existence as presented in Nausea from the philosophical description of being as presented in Being ~ Nothingness; second, they ignore the fact that the themes in Nausea are different in content from the corresponding themes in Being ~ Nothingness and are similar only in name; last, they overlook the fact that some problems that are essential to existential philosophy are completely absent from Nausea. thus, Nausea is not an expression of Sartre's existential philosophy, but it establishes a postulate (presence of existence) which Sartre takes for granted in his philosophy. Therefore, Nausea complements Sartre's philosophy and is a first step to the comprehension of it.
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Typescript.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1969.
Bibliography: leaves 116-118.
118 l
Keywords
Sartre, Jean-Paul, Existentialism
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Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (University of Hawaii (Honolulu)). Philosophy; no. 248
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