The Transcendence of the EGO: An Existentialist Theory of Consciousness

First published in France in 1937, this important essay marked a turning point in Sartre?s philosophical development. Before writing it, he had been closely allied with phenomenologists such as Husserl and Heidegger. Here, however, Sartre attacked Husserl?s notion of a transcendental ego. The break with Husserl, in turn, facilitated Sartre?s transition from phenomenology to the existentialist doctrines of his masterwork, Being and Nothingness, which was completed a few years later while the author was a prisoner of war.

This student-friendly edition of The Transcendence of the Ego also includes an introduction and notes/annotations by the translators.