In this issue, two authors offer a phenomenological analysis of contemporary social phenomenon (political torture and jazz). The other two authors engage Sartrean literature. The theme of being situated runs through all four pieces. Sartre not only collected many of his shorter essays under the title of Situations, he developed an entire philosophy based on the premise that humans are free only within-a-situation. Unlike any other author before or since, Sartre found a way to express his vision of human freedom in philosophical texts, plays, novels, and journalism. The four authors in this volume draw on Sartre's unparalleled ability to combine artistic and philosophical expression.

In “Tortured Freedom: A Sartrean Critique of Political Tortured Confessions in Iran,” Hamid Andishan returns us to an ethical question that was very important to Sartre: How can people remain existentially free, despite being oppressed? Like the Sartre of The Situations, Andishan delves into a pressing political situation—torture in Iran—only to reveal a universal truth about human existence: human embodiment is best expressed by the notion that we are bodies, not by the notion that we have bodies. From his Sartrean analysis of embodiment under torture, Andishan constructs a message of hope for survivors of political torture in Iran: giving a confession under torture does not mean the agent has irreparably lost their freedom.

Craig Matarrese also applies phenomenological analysis in his “Jazz Improvisation and Creolizing Phenomenology.” Matarrese surveys new literature about Creolization, much of it written by thinkers associated with the Caribbean Philosophical Association like Michael Monahan and Paget Henry. After developing a creative methodological blend of phenomenology and Creolizing philosophy, Matarrese tackles the hard question of what it means to improvise in jazz. Drawing on and extending his previous writings on Sartre and jazz, Matarrese argues that to understand jazz we must understand how jazz musician practice—in particular we must understand the nature of repetition as a primary technique that prepares musicians for improvisation in live performances.

Simone Villani's piece, “Towards a Phenomenology of Reflective Identification: Huis Clos’ Mirror Theme,” articulates important connections between Sartre's analysis of self-deception and recognition in Being and Nothingness and philosophical themes of self-reflection found in his play No Exit. Villani reframes Sartre's drama as a struggle for “reflective identification.” By focusing on the mirror as a metaphor for recognition, Villani finds new nuances of meaning in No Exit, in particular in those scenes where the characters use different reflect surfaces in a bad faith attempt to see themselves as others see them. Inèz, Estelle, and Garcin seek the “existential serenity” that would come from having a self-identity independent of the Other. Yet as readers of the play know, they are unable to find the simple satisfaction that comes from gazing at a reflection of oneself in a mirror.

Aaron Castroverde also addresses the philosophical underpinnings of Sartre's creative writing. In “Philosophical Fiction as World Literature: Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea,” Castroverde argues that Nausea must be understood in relation to world literature, given how influential the novel has been outside of France and given the structure of the novel. There is an “internal tension between philosophy and fiction,” Castroverde writes. Like Sartre's attempt to develop a concrete universal, his fiction is at once situated and universal. Castroverde offers a compelling analysis of the “philosophical novel,” understanding it as a genre onto itself, reducible neither to philosophy nor fiction. Convincingly, Castroverde places Sartre's work solidly within the “modernist” camp of twentieth century fiction. Finally, the issue concludes with five book reviews on a vast array of topics. Happy Reading!