The existentialist moment defended

a reply to Simon Susen

pp. 123-146

in: Simon Susen, Patrick Baert, The sociology of intellectuals, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

In this chapter, Patrick Baert offers a detailed reply to Simon Susen's review of The Existentialist Moment: The Rise of Sartre as a Public Intellectual. More specifically, Baert defends his proposal for a positioning theory, arguing that it equips us with a powerful explanatory framework for the sociological study of intellectuals. Even if the label "positioning theory" may suggest otherwise, Baert's version of this approach constitutes a comprehensive research programme, rather than a merely theoretical endeavour. As such, it can be regarded as a way of conducting research that pays close attention to the relationship between intellectual interventions and the meanings that these interventions acquire within socio-political contexts. This type of inquiry, then, requires an in-depth understanding not only of intellectuals but also of the broader milieu in which intellectuals operate.