Sartre e a literatura

Imaginação, engajamento e liberdade

Abstract

In the essay What is literature? originally published in 1947, Jean-Paul Sartre
develops his arguments in response to the harsh criticism he received due to the principle of
engagement characteristic of his literary works. These critics understood that Sartre used
literature as a pretext to propagate and defend his political and philosophical theses, thus
producing a kind of engaged literature, distorting and devaluing the noble sense of belles-lettres
art. In response to these criticisms, Sartre's intention is to exalt literature, understanding it as a
free unveiling of the sense of the world through an imaginary object, a pact of generosity
between author and reader. In order to discuss the philosophical sense of literature, this article
is based on Sartre’s phenomenological ontology and the arguments presented by the author in
response to his critics, presenting the principle of engagement from the concept of conscience
intentionality and the phenomenological sense of imagination, understanding that this is a
discussion that philosophically supports the author's understanding of what literature is and its
importance for the constitution of subjectivity and the affirmation of freedom.