Abstract

Finally, a separate section of the Index has been reserved for the works of Flaubert which have been analyzed in detail by Sartre in The Family Idiot. Each work is indexed separately and comprises in some cases a general index coupled with entries related to the protagonists. ;It is hoped that the present Index will be of use both as theoretical and historical instrument. ;The indexing of words or themes--literary, philosophical, or both--such as "Alienation," "Art," "Beauty," "Being," "Death," "Desire," "Dreams," "Estrangement," "Hate," "Imagination," "Inferiority," "Laughter," "Literature," "Negation," "Nothingness," "Passivity," "Pride," "Reality," "Resentment," "Sexuality," "Temporality," "Writing," ... was made intentionally detailed in order to provide a convenient and accessible instrument for research in Sartre's philosophy. ;This complexity presented great problems. For example, under the central theme "passivity," the reader will find a number of sub-categories establishing the distinction between Gustave Flaubert's passivity and that of some of his contemporaries. The reader will also find "passivity" as a recurrent theme in Flaubert's works, as well as "passivity" analyzed by Sartre in more general terms as a purely philosophical item. ;The philosophical terms have been indexed with special care, and in certain cases, for words such as "Being," "Nothingness," "Non-Being" and "Other," different classifications have been made according to whether, in Sartre's text, these words were capitalized or not. ;The Index of The Family Idiot is much more extensive and is, we feel, quite unique in its design. This is due in large part to the nature of Sartre's work itself. From the time of the conception of this project, it became clear that, due to the originality and complexity of Sartre's thought, the Index of The Idiot would require a special structure. Indeed, Sartre's "Flaubert," a truly colossal work, is a maze of references and cross-references on different levels and relates to disciplines as diverse as history, anthropology, sociology, psychology and politics. Thus in the "Flaubert" Sartre brings together and integrates in a unique and harmonious fashion literature, criticism, and philosophy. ;The indices of Being and Nothingness and of the Critique of Dialectical Reason are essentially traditional indices. They are detailed and are intended to permit researchers to have at hand all possible references pertaining to the themes and topics contained in these two works. ;With the passing of time, one has come to realize that at the center of Sartre's philosophical enterprise there is one fundamental question: What is human being in all possible manifestations of being? The three above mentioned works represent the main steps in Sartre's "unified field theory" of being and human being which constitutes Sartre's answer to this question. ;The present Index du Corpus philosophique de Sartre is not only, as the title indicates, an analytical index, but also an instrument intended to aid Sartrians and other researchers in better understanding the general evolution of Sartre's philosophy. For this purpose three main philosophical works have been chosen: Being and Nothingness, Critique of Dialectical Reason and The Family Idiot