Philosophy 190

Simone de Beauvoir is an important and influential twentieth century philosopher, but her contributions are often neglected and rarely taught. Our aim in this seminar is to take Beauvoir seriously as a philosopher in her own right and to take her philosophical project on its own terms. In particular, we will examine how her phenomenology, moral philosophy, and feminist philosophy informed one another. Our focus will be on “Pyrrhus and Cineas”, Ethics of Ambiguity, as well as her feminist classic The Second Sex (selections). Since Beauvoir was also a celebrated novelist, we will read and discuss some of Beauvoir’s literary writings, such as her newly published and translated novella, the Inseparables.

As taught this semester, Phil 190 may satisfy the more inclusive history requirement (which is: 153, 155, 156A, 160–188).