osted For COREY CREASEY, Section 11
Final Report: Simone De Beauvoir
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” - Simone De Beauvoir
Simone De Beauvoir was born on January 9 in Paris, France. She won many awards and recognitions, including the French literary award, the Prix Goncourt. She was known at the time of her death in 1986 as an important author, activist, and intellectual. Beauvoir’s philosophical approach is unique because it combines different theories to form her school of thought. Her influences included ideas from Immanuel Kant, and Karl Marx using a historical approach, along with Descartes and Henri-Louis Bergson. Beauvoir also pulled many of her ideals from other famous French philosophers, like Jean-Paul Sartre, Camus, and Merleau-Ponty.
Her works cover a multitude of subjects such as ethics, feminism, politics, and her later work on her own autobiography. In fact, Beauvoir’s work on feminism “The Second Sex”, is still an important text for the Women’s Liberation Movement and is seen as one of the top 100 most important works of her time. One of her works that is well-known for its exploration of ambiguity, “The Ethics of Ambiguity” looked at how people choose to give up their own personal choice and do not to take responsibility for their actions in the name of “serious thought.”
In 1949, Beauvoir published her world-famous analysis of female existentialism which resulted in a revolutionary movement, which inspired women all over the world. She had the view that a person is not born into their gender, but that they grow into it. She said that women are equally capable as men of choosing their thoughts and actions, and of taking charge of the world. She relates her thoughts to Plato when she says that women do not have to think and act like men to be considered one in the same. Beauvoir is also credited with writing the finest literature of her times. All her literary works portray human reactions to situations of conflict in the society. In She Came To Stay, she shows the damage that can come through complex characters. Her novel, The Blood of Others, won the appreciation of many, and deals with how a person can be held responsible for the society. In All Men Are Mortal, she discusses life and death. In a later novel named The Mandarin, she speaks about the role mass media plays in stirring up change in the society. In addition to her philosophical essays and literary novels, Beauvoir dedicated four publications to her experiences and formed her own autobiography, starting from Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter ending on All Said and Done.
Simone De Beauvoir on Existentialism and God (1959)
Quiz questions:
- What are two French philosopher’s ideals that Beauvoir took and expanded upon for her own philosophies?
- What was the main point Beauvoir was writing about in the Mandarin?
- What work did Beauvoir write that because known as one of the top 100 works of the 20th century?
Discussion Questions:
- In Beauvoir work The Mandarin, she speaks about the role mass media plays in stirring up change in the society. Do you think that this is true? If so, why?
- In her work The Blood of Others, she deals with how a person can be held responsible for the society. Do you believe that a person could be held responsible for a society as a whole? If so, on what grounds do you believe this principle would apply?
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Sources:
- “Simone De Beauvoir Quotes (Author of The Second Sex).” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5548.Simone_de_Beauvoir.
- Kirkpatrick, Kate. “Was Simone De Beauvoir as Feminist as We Thought?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Aug. 2019, www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/20/was-simone-de-beauvoir-as-feminist-as-we-thought.
- Thurman, Judith. “Introduction to Simone De Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 May 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/excerpt-introduction-second-sex.html.
Discussion question
ReplyDeleteI do think that social media plays a vital role in stirring up change in society whether it be positive or negative. The reason for this is that a lot has to do with how easily social media is accessed by the public. For example, when people see that a vast majority of the population agree with a certain topic they tend to conform to the cause instead of speaking up.
"women do not have to think and act like men to be considered one in the same" - By whom? Does she mean that we can respect gender differences without denying equality of opportunity? That's no longer controversial, by most, but in her day it was still considered radical.
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