Abstract

Originally published in 1965, this informed and important, if disputed, essay is one of several book-length studies of Sartre’s later thought to have appeared in Italy over the least decade. The book concentrates on the general argument of the Critique of Dialectical Reason. Its overall tone is critical without being carping. Chiodi states his main thesis in the preface, namely, that Sartre differs from Marx by identifying alienation with [[sic]] objectification, a corollary to any philosophy which accords a privileged status to the subjective. He develops this point in detail over six chapters dealing, respectively, with existentialism and Marxism, existence and project, the dialectic, necessity, state and society, and alienation. Two of Chiodi’s articles from the Rivista di filosofia are included as appendices, viz., "Existentialism and Marxism" and "The Concept of ‘Alienation’ in Existentialism." Both are valuable historicocritical analyses.