Sartre and Levinas converged on nausea and Being without direct contact

Evidence

Levinas’ ideas were an influence on Benny Lévy, which may be why Hope Now is filled with ideas that sound Levinasian. If true, this is another of those intriguing sidelong contacts between Levinas and Sartre. They barely knew each other, and their ideas were often radically different, yet their paths crossed at significant points. Almost half a century earlier, Sartre had bought Levinas’ book in Paris after the conversation about apricot cocktails in the Bec-de-Gaz bar. Then, in the mid-1930s, they both produced remarkably similar writings about nausea and being. Now, through Lévy, their ideas were brought into unexpected proximity again — perhaps without either one acknowledging or reflecting on the fact. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 990

Categorization

• XREF: The sidelong convergence theme echoes the apricot-cocktail anecdote and the parallel-nausea writings from earlier chapters; also connects to the general ‘thought flowing through networks’ motif.