In this chapter, Simon Susen provides an in-depth review of Patrick Baert's The Existentialist Moment: The Rise of Sartre as a Public Intellectual (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2015), focusing on the theoretical dimensions underpinning the analysis developed in this book. The chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part, Susen gives a detailed, and largely sympathetic, overview of Baert's approach, drawing attention to its main conceptual and methodological contributions to the sociological study of intellectuals. In the second part, Susen grapples with the limitations and shortcomings of Baert's approach, especially with respect to its plea for a paradigm shift from a 'vocabulary of intentions' to a 'vocabulary of effects' in the sociology of intellectuals. The chapter concludes with a brief reflection on the role that intellectuals may play in shaping the development of society.
Keywords Baert • Effects • Intellectuals • Intentions • Public intellectuals • Sartre • Sociology of intellectualsAn abridged version of this chapter was presented on 19th June 2015 at the 14th Annual Conference of the International Social Theory Consortium (on Reconstructing Social Theory, History and Practice), which took place between 17th and 19th June 2015 at the University of Cambridge, UK. years-not only in France, but also in other 'Western' countries. Collective efforts to come to terms with the multiple traumatic experiences of the Second World War-which, in the French case, amounted to a curious mixture of conflicting sentiments such as 'guilt, pride and shame' 86 -posed a tangible challenge to the intellectual landscape on all sides of the political spectrum. A snapshot view, however, falls short of doing justice to the complexity of diverse-and, at several levels, interrelated-historical dynamics.Third, one may elect to explain Sartre's success in terms of 'the relaxing of morals' 87 as a collectively desired 'antidote to the repressive years of Vichy' 88 . On this understanding, Sartre-not least because of his fierce opposition to the Vichy regime-epitomized the values, principles, and practices of those supporting the Résistance against the conservative values of the morally oppressive and politically opportunistic sectors of French society. This interpretation is problematic, however, to the degree that it is based on the misleading assumption that existentialism, due to its alleged emphasis on the radical freedom pervading the course of human agency, 'hardly imposed any burden on the individual' 89 , and even less so on the collective conscience of society. Yet, as Baert remarks, '[t]o suggest that Sartre's existentialism was experienced as a licence for unbridled freedom ignores his strong moral vocabulary at the time and the centrality of the notion of responsibility' 90 . Contrary to common misconceptions, our freedom to make choices means that we-as rational subjects capable of morally guided behaviour-are responsible for our actions. Hence, far from making a case for the relaxation, let alone the rejection, of ...
