This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to Simone de Beauvoir's philosophical thought. Beauvoir has long been recognized as the twentieth century's leading feminist writer, but the full extent of her significance as a philosopher is just coming into focus. This study examines the history of Beauvoir's development into one of the most original and influential thinkers of her era.
The Fullbrooks begin with an account of Beauvoir's formation as a philosopher. They then explore her early writing on philosophical method and the ways this shaped her fiction. The book traces the development of Beauvoir's central theories of embodied consciousness and intersubjectivity, and examines her concepts of the "individual" and the "social other". An analysis of Beauvoir's ethics of liberation leads to philosophical readings of her great works of applied ethics, The Second Sex and Old Age. Finally, Beauvoir's contribution to continuing debates about consciousness, the body, the self and the other is reassessed.
The publication of this introduction to Beauvoir's philosophy is an important contribution to the current renaissance of Beauvoir studies. Clear, accessible and lively, this book is essential reading not only for students of Beauvoir but for anyone interested in the submerged record of women's impact on philosophy.
Hardcover
Status
Available
Edition
First
Edition
ISBN
9780745612027
ISBN10
0745612024
Publication Dates ROW:
Dec 1997
Publication Dates US:
Feb 1998
Publication Dates Aus & NZ:
Dec 1997
Format
240 x 161 mm
,
9.44 x 6.33 in
Pages
192
pages
Paperback
Status
Available
Edition
First
Edition
ISBN
9780745612034
ISBN10
0745612032
Publication Dates ROW:
Dec 1997
Publication Dates US:
Feb 1998
Publication Dates Aus & NZ:
Dec 1997
Format
229 x 153 mm
,
9.00 x 6.00 in
Pages
192
pages
* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
Please note: Sales representation and distribution for Polity titles is provided by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
"This book is a clearly-written and tightly-organized addition to the growing scholarly interest in Simone de Beauvoir's philosophy. Kate and Edward Fullbrook provide an overview of Beauvoir's philosophical sources and an outline of her original starting point in ethics. Highlighting Beauvoir's emphasis on embodiment and intersubjectivity, they argue strongly for Beauvoir's place in current, popular ethical discussions."
Eleanore Holveck, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
"This is certainly a book that needed to be written and the authors make an excellent job of it. The book can be highly recommended." Dr Elizabeth Fallaize, St. John's College, Oxford
"A good working introduction to de Beauvoir's thought." Times Literary Supplement
"A concise and unified picture of Beauvoir as philosopher." Women's Philosophy Review
Introduction.
1. The Education of a Philosopher.
2. Writing for her Life.
3. Literature and Philosophy.
4. Narrative Selves.
5. Embodiment and Intersubjectivity.
6. The Ethics of Liberation.
7. Applied Ethics I: The Second Sex.
8. Applied Ethics II: Les Belles Images, The Woman Destroyed, and Old Age.
Notes.
Glossary.
The Works of Simone de Beauvoir.
Index.
Edward Fullbrook is a freelance writer.
Kate Fullbrook is Professor of Literary Studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol. They are authors of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend and many essays on Simone de Beauvoir.
