Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) represent two of the most important figures in the modern European intellectual tradition. Their thought has profoundly influenced most of the major schools of contemporary philosophy and social theory, including phenomenology, existentialism, Marxism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and hermeneutics.
The Debate between Sartre and Merleau-Ponty provides a balanced portrait of the intellectual relationship between these two men. Essays by leading scholars as well as selections from the primary texts of Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir address the numerous points of contact and cover the major themes of the debate from the different periods in their shared history. A biographical overview introduces the work and provides a context for the theoretical issues taken up in the articles, and an extensive bibliography suggests further readings to supplement the selections included in the volume.

JON STEWART is an associate research professor at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is supported by the Danish National Research Foundation. He is the editor of The Hegel Myths and Legends (Northwestern University Press).