Sartre’s Nobel refusal was other-directed while Heidegger’s Berlin refusal was retreat

Evidence

In effect, when offered the prize, Sartre had mentally consulted the ‘least favoured’, rather as Heidegger had sought the wisdom of the Todtnauberg ‘peasant’ next door when offered the Berlin job in 1934. In Heidegger’s story, his neighbour silently shook his head. In Sartre’s mind, the least favoured similarly gave him the authoritative head-shake: no. But Heidegger’s refusal was all about retreat and resignation from worldly complexities. Sartre’s was a response to the demands of unjustly treated human beings — and it tied him more closely than ever to the lives of others. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 877

Categorization

• XREF: Directly contrasts the two philosophers’ refusal stories, crystallizing the ethical divergence between Sartrean engagement and Heideggerian withdrawal explored throughout the book. — connects to: Weimar Berlin concentrated the century’s contradictions in one city — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 246; Sartre refused the Nobel to preserve independence and protest Western bias — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 876; Sartre championed political engagement while Heidegger rebuffed it. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 659

Broader Connections

• Sartre refused the Nobel to preserve independence and protest Western bias #expands (0.95) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 876
• Sartre championed political engagement while Heidegger rebuffed it. #expands (0.85) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 659