<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Sartre’s attitude toward medicine has been neglected by researchers, insofar as his disinterest in sciences would justify the absence in his work of a thorough reflection on medicine or disease. The publication of some unpublished works on morals written between 1961 and 1965, when the war of Algeria was coming to an end, asks to reassess this issue. In these unpublished works, especially in <italic>Les racines de l’éthique</italic>, the issue of attitudes toward life and death draws significant attention. In this article, we dwell upon Sartre’s reaction to the famous infanticide trial held in Liège in 1962, also known as the Softenon Trial. Taking a stand against the accusatory comments of leftist journals, Sartre pays scrupulous attention to the biopolitical transformations that Western societies are then experiencing. This attention should be understood in the background of Sartre’s family history as well as in an unnoticed dialogue with the School of Annales, with the history of attitudes towards life and death delineated by Philippe Ariès and also with the history of sensibilities outlined by Lucien Febvre.</p></abstract>

Sartre’s attitude toward medicine has been neglected by researchers, insofar as his disinterest in sciences would justify the absence in his work of a thorough reflection on medicine or disease. The publication of some unpublished works on morals written between 1961 and 1965, when the war of Algeria was coming to an end, asks to reassess this issue. In these unpublished works, especially in Les racines de l’éthique, the issue of attitudes toward life and death draws significant attention. In this article, we dwell upon Sartre’s reaction to the famous infanticide trial held in Liège in 1962, also known as the Softenon Trial. Taking a stand against the accusatory comments of leftist journals, Sartre pays scrupulous attention to the biopolitical transformations that Western societies are then experiencing. This attention should be understood in the background of Sartre’s family history as well as in an unnoticed dialogue with the School of Annales, with the history of attitudes towards life and death delineated by Philippe Ariès and also with the history of sensibilities outlined by Lucien Febvre.

Sartre, Medicine, and the Infanticide Trial in Liège: From Life towards History

Phainomenon

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Sartre, Medicine, and the Infanticide Trial in Liège: From Life towards History"}

Sartre’s attitude toward medicine has been neglected by researchers, insofar as his disinterest in sciences would justify the absence in his work of a thorough...

Sartre, Medicine, and the Infanticide Trial in Liège: From Life towards History

Publié en ligne: 14 oct. 2021

Pages: 203 - 238

Reçu: 10 sept. 2018

Accepté: 14 janv. 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/phainomenon-2018-0016

Mots clés
Sartre, Softénon Trial, School of Annales, Ariès, War of Algeria

© 2018 Grégory Cormann, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Sartre, Medicine, and the Infanticide Trial in Liège: From Life towards History

Publié en ligne: 14 oct. 2021

Pages: 203 - 238

Reçu: 10 sept. 2018

Accepté: 14 janv. 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/phainomenon-2018-0016

Mots clésSartre, Softénon Trial, School of Annales, Ariès, War of Algeria

© 2018 Grégory Cormann, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
Sartre, Softénon Trial, School of Annales, Ariès, War of Algeria