Search for a Method

Translated and with an Introduction by Hazel Barnes. This is Sartre’s own introduction to, and explication of, The Critique of Dialectical Reason.


“Having establised the fact that original Marxism has been defaced, Sartre—the philosopher personally engaged in history—resolved to rebuild the Marxian palace according to the original specifications.  Simultaneously, he decieded to add such modifications as individual existence requires that would make it impossible to continue to misuse Marxism.  This complex task is fully described by Satre in his major work, The Critique of Dialectical Reason, to which Search for a Method, is only an introduction. As an introduction, however, Search for a Method is sufficiently self-contained toe be regarded as a complete work.  It touches upon all of the major themes and problems that [will] receive a fuller treatment in the two-volume Critique.
     “The attempt to enrich and purify Marxism assumes intellect-defying proportions when Sartre adds to it his unshakable conviction that existentialism is the pulsating heart of Marxism. Existentialism concerns itself with the relationship of the individual to this world. Consequently, Sartre postulates that Marxism can serve as a blueprint for historical action if it is reconciled with and takes into account the role and function of the individual in the historical process.
     “Sartre is the first to offer a philosophical solution that has been thought out under the imminent and transcendent shadow of ‘The Bomb,’ and for that reason alone his Search for a Method deserves recognition.” —Alfred Bloch, Saturday Review