Being and Nothingness was "a pretentious metaphysical thesis" and "principally an exercise in misusing the verb 'to be'." The philosopher William Barrett, writing in "Irrational Man" (1958), described "Being and Nothingness" as "a great, uneven, brilliant and verbose tome". He noted Sartre's debts to Heidegger, but nevertheless credited him with originality. He criticized Sartre for neglecting Heidegger's "notion of the truth of Being", his understanding of what it means for a subject or object to be. In his view, Sartre failed to "deal with the problem of truth in a radical and existential way", instead viewing truth in "the ordinary intellectualistic sense that
Lars Bergström (philosopher) Lars Bergström (philosopher) Lars Bergström is a Swedish philosopher and professor of practical philosophy at Stockholm University. In 2017, he was awarded the "Rettigska priset" by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities for his "internationally influential philosophical authorship and his valuable contributions to the philosophical discussion in Sweden". Bergström received his PhD in 1966. His dissertation "The Alternatives and Consequences of Actions" attracted considerable international attention and sparked a lively and extensive discussion in professional philosophical journals. He served as a professor of practical philosophy at the University of Uppsala from 1974 until 1987, when he assumed