1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910452004503321

Titolo

The legacy of Simone de Beauvoir / / edited by Emily R. Grosholz

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford ; ; New York : , : Clarendon Press, , [2004]

©2004

ISBN

1-280-75374-9

9786610753741

0-19-155597-5

1-4237-6809-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (241 pages)

Disciplina

848/.91409

Soggetti

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Simone de Beauvoir: a woman philosopher in the context of her generation / Claude Imbert ; trans. E. Grosholz -- Towards a friendly, transatlantic critique of The second sex / Michèle Le Doeuff ; trans. E. Grosholz -- While we wait: notes on the English translation of The second sex / Toril Moi -- Complicity and slavery in The second sex / Susan James -- Simone de Beauvoir and human dignity / Catherine Wilson -- Must we read Simone de Beauvoir? / Nancy Bauer -- Meaning what we say: the 'politics of theory' and the responsibility of intellectuals / Toril Moi -- Saying what we mean / Anne Stevenson -- The house we never leave: childhood, shelter and freedom in the writings of Beauvoir and Colette / Emily R. Grosholz.

Sommario/riassunto

The legacy of Simone de Beauvoir has yet to be properly assessed and explored. The 50th anniversary of the publication of The Second Sex inspired this volume which brings together philosophers and literary critics, some of whom are well known for their books on Beauvoir (Bauer, Le Doeuff, Moi), others new to Beauvoir studies though long familiar with her work (Grosholz, Imbert, James, Stevenson, Wilson).; One aim of this collection is to encourage greater recognition of Beauvoir's philosophical writings through systematic reflection on their place in the canon and on her methods. The Second Sex played a



central role in the profound shift in philosophy's self-understanding that took place in the latter half of the twentieth century, and today offers new problems for reflection and novel means for appropriating older texts. Its reflective iconoclasm can be compared to that of Descartes' Meditations; its enormous, directly discernible impact on our social world invites comparison with Locke's Two Treatises of Government.; The collection also examines the relationship between Beauvoir's literary writing and her philosophical thought. Deeply concerned with the critical and creative powers of reason as well as with the betterment of our suffering world, Simone de Beauvoir wrote in a variety of genres in addition to the philosophical essay: the novel, political journalism, and the memoir. The multiplicity of her voices was closely related to her philosophical project. Since Beauvoir's method (like that of W. E. B. du Bois) proceeded from her own immediate experience, her reflections had to find expression sometimes as narrative, sometimes as autobiography, sometimes as argument.; The Legacy of Simone de Beauvoir demonstrates the many ways in which Beauvoir's writings, in particular The Second Sex, can serve as resources for thought, for the life of the

mind which is as concerned with the past and future as it is with the present.