Jean-Paul Sartre

Awarded for

Work rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the search for truth

The story behind the prize

Sartre was a leading existentialist who argued that 'existence precedes essence': people have no fixed nature and are responsible for creating themselves through their choices. His major works include Being and Nothingness and the novel Nausea.

About

French existentialist philosopher, novelist and playwright.

Exam facts

• Voluntarily declined the prize, saying a writer should not become an institution