Philosophical Writings

The Beauvoir Series

by Simone de Beauvoir, Margaret A. Simons (Editor), Margaret Simons (Editor)

Despite growing interest in her philosophy, Simone de Beauvoir remains widely misunderstood. She is typically portrayed as a mere intellectual follower of her companion, Jean-Paul Sartre. In Philosophical Writings , Beauvoir herself shows that nothing could be further from the truth. Beauvoir's philosophical work suffers from a lack of English-language translation or, worse, mistranslation into heavily condensed popular versions. Philosophical Writings provides an unprecedented collection of complete, scholarly editions of philosophical texts that cover the first twenty-three years of Beauvoir's career, including a number of recently discovered works. Ranging from metaphysical literature to existentialist ethics, Philosophical Writings brings together diverse elements of Beauvoir's work while highlighting continuities in the development of her thought. Each of the translations features detailed notes and a scholarly introduction explaining its larger significance. Revelatory and long overdue, Philosophical Writings adds to the ongoing resurgence of interest in Beauvoir's thought and to her growing influence on today's philosophical curriculum.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2005

About the author

Works of Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, existentialist, and feminist, include The Second Sex in 1949 and The Coming of Age , a study in 1970 of views of different cultures on the old.


Simone de Beauvoir, an author and philosopher, wrote novels, monographs, political and social issues, essays, biographies, and an autobiography. People now best know She Came to Stay and The Mandarins , her metaphysical novels. Her treatise, a foundational contemporary tract, of 1949 detailed analysis of oppression of women.

Reviews

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting essays by de Beauvoir.. in this compilation there are also critical essays about her writing, including an introduction to her discarded chapters of L’invitée, that precede Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and proves she had many of the ideas that defined existentialism before Sartre. For years her work was considered anthropological research and literature but this proves beyond any doubt her value as a philosopher.

[Greg Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

The contributing authors add to an ever increasing need to the Simone de Beauvoir library. I finished this book so quickly that I could not wait for the rest of the series to be published! Recommended for anyone who would like to further their knowledge of Beauvoir or for the Beauvoir scholar.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're new to Simone de Beauvoir, like I am, this book is accessible to anyone reasonably versed in Western philosophy. It actually provides an interesting introduction point because it's focused on her early writings and is deliberately setting aside de Beauvoir as an important thinker distinct, separate, and even perhaps ahead of her contemporary Sartre, who obviously eclipsed de Beauvoir in influence because of his gender - and some of the contributors might argue, partially by her own doing in shying away from branding herself an out-and-out philosopher.

I bought this on a whim at a used bookstore and hope I can now find the others in the set to complete my library - a great way to read philosophy!

[Chelsea K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insights and good explanations to better understand existentialism