Sartre and Posthumanist Humanism (Beyond Humanism: Trans- and Posthumanism / Jenseits des Humanismus: Trans- und Posthumanismus)

In recent years, calls for a new humanism have arisen from a variety of voices across the spectrum of philosophy, expressing frustration with outdated models of the human that cannot account for the richness of our social being. The postmodern deconstruction of the human now requires a reconstructive moment. In response, the author articulates a new and explicitly posthumanist humanism using the framework developed by Jean-Paul Sartre in his later Marxist-Existentialist works. Sartre’s unique dialectical and hermeneutical methods allow us to reconceptualize the human beyond traditional dichotomies of individual/social and freedom/necessity. The author argues that the individual and the social should be understood as existing within a dynamic, co-constituting interrelation, and that individual autonomy is not at odds with, but rather fundamentally enabled by, the social. Contents Acknowledgements Introduction The Essentialist Account: Enlightenment Humanism The Anti-Essentialist Account: Postmodern Anti-Humanism Beyond Essence and Anti-Essence: Calls for a New Posthumanist Humanism Sartre’s Project of Reconceptualizing the Human A Posthumanist Articulation of the Common Human Condition Chapter One: Materiality in Human Existence:The Practico-Inert, Scarcity, and Needs Praxis and the Practico-Inert Existence in the Context of Scarcity The Experience of Needs True and False Needs Can Scarcity Be Overcome? Conclusion Chapter Two: Reconceptualizing the Individual and the Social: The Theory of Objective Spirit The Need for Mediations: Sartre’s Search for a Method Objective Spirit: Sartre’s Key to Reconceptualizing the Relationship of Individual and Social Language, Ideology, and Imperatives Consequences for Freedom and Necessity Objective Spirit as a Unity within Multiplicity Sartre’s Theory of Objective Spirit and Intersectionality Conclusion Problems with Privileging One Term Chapter Three: The Co-Constitution of the Individual and the Social The Internalizing Moment: The Social Constitution of the Individual The Externalizing Moment: The “Differential” and the Individual’s Free Creations Sartre’s Case Study: Gustave Flaubert A Contemporary Example: Maya Lin Conclusion Chapter Four:Problems and Possibilities for Human Relationships Sartre’s Early Social Thought – Relations of Conflict Hints of a More Positive Account of the Social Sartre’s Transition – Recognition and Authentic Love The Critique of Dialectical Reason – The Group-in-Fusion The Family Idiot – Social Needs and the Experience of Childhood Social Needs and Freedom Common Objections to Sartre’s Social Philosophy Conclusion Chapter Five:The Posthuman Condition and Difference:The Nature of Social Identities I. The Series II. Sartre on Class-Being Social Class as Membership in a Series The Example of Bourgeois Respectability Internalizing Ideologies Freedom and Necessity in the Experience of Class-Being III. Rethinking Gender Why Is a Reconceptualization of Gender Necessary? Gender Identity as Membership in a Series Freedom and Necessity in the Experience of Gender IV. Rethinking Race Why Is a Reconceptualization of Race Necessary? Race as Membership in a Series Freedom and Necessity in the Experience of Race Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography