A brief history of the reception of sartre in Argentina

Abstract

This chapter is a brief reconstruction of the reception of Jean-Paul Sartre’s work and thought in Argentina from 1930 to 1970. It shows the French writer and philosopher’s early and crucial role in the intellectual history of Argentina by displaying the major milestones of said process. Firstly, it deals with the process of the translation of several of Sartre’s short stories, articles and novels accomplished by literary journal Sur and publishing house Losada. Secondly, it goes over the rigorous academic studies of Being and Nothingness carried out during the 1950s by some members of the so-called ‘existentialist generation’ or ‘generation of 1925’ in the history of Argentinian philosophy, such as Carlos Astrada, Vicente Fatone, Miguel Ángel and Rafael Virasoro. Thirdly, it analyses the influence of Sartre and his magazine Les Temps modernes on the New Argentinian Left in the late 1950s and the 1960s, especially on the young intellectuals who were part of the magazine Contorno. Then, it addresses the impact of Sartre’s Marxist texts published in the 1960s in the philosophical and political debates between members of the New Left. Finally, it explains the decline of Sartre as an intellectual beacon in Argentina due to the rise of rival schools of thought (structuralism in particular), the deterioration of Sartre’s health and the beginning of political persecution and cultural censorship in Argentina because of the imposition of military dictatorships.