Existentialist philosophy demands literary form to convey embodied lived experience

Evidence

In any case, it is quite misguided to try to separate these activities, the literary and the philosophical, especially for Sartre and Beauvoir. Aft er all, the kind of philosophy they espouse commands that they explore forms of discourse other than the traditional systematic discourse of philosophy in order to delineate more truthfully the notions they want to promote. Because they are dealing with the concrete, embodied, situated individuals that are in-the-world, novels seem perfectly suited for the exploration of the lived experience of such persons, notably the exploration of their personal authenticity or its lack. — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 37

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains why Sartre and Beauvoir’s philosophy necessarily takes novel and theatre form rather than systematic treatise form.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader Continental tradition work; the concrete-embodied-situation emphasis echoes the other in-the-world phenomenology. — connects to: Existentialism holds that philosophy grows out of concrete lived experience — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 54; Modern existentialism fused German phenomenology with Danish philosophy and French literary sensibility — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 23; Existentialism is by nature applied to real individual lives — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 687 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Existentialist philosophy values active engaged form over abstract speculation #expands (0.88) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 38
• Literary language’s mood can be carried over onto real, living things rather than arguments #expands (0.75) — Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family, 1840