Beauvoir and The Second Sex: Feminism, Race, and the Origins of Existentialism

by Margaret A. Simons

Overview

In a compelling chronicle of her search to understand Beauvoir's philosophy in The Second Sex, Margaret A. Simons offers a unique perspective on BeauvoirOs wide-ranging contribution to twentieth-century thought. She details the discovery of the origins of Beauvoir's existential philosophy in her handwritten diary from 1927; uncovers evidence of the sexist exclusion of Beauvoir from the philosophical canon; reveals evidence that the African-American writer Richard Wright provided Beauvoir with the theoretical model of oppression that she used in The Second Sex; shows the influence of The Second Sex in transforming Sartre's philosophy and in laying the theoretical foundations of radical feminism; and addresses feminist issues of racism, motherhood, and lesbian identity. Simons also draws on her experience as a WomenOs Liberation organizer as she witnessed how women used The Second Sex in defining the foundations of radical feminism. Bringing together her work as both activist and scholar, Simons offers a highly original contribution to the renaissance of Beauvoir scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742571273
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/07/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

The author of numerous articles on Beauvoir, feminism, and philosophy, Margaret A. Simons is co-editor (with Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir) of a forthcoming series of English translations of all Beauvoir's philosophically significant texts. She teaches in the Department of Philosophical Studies at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 In Memoriam (1986)
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 1 Beauvoir Interview (1979) Margaret A. Simons and Jessica Benjamin
Chapter 4 2 Racism and Feminism: A Schism in the Sisterhood (1979)
Chapter 5 3 Beauvoir and Sartre: The Question of Influence
Chapter 6 4 Beauvoir Interview (1982)
Chapter 7 5 The Silencing of Simone de Beauvior: Guess What's Missing from The Second Sex (1983)
Chapter 8 6 Motherhood, Feminism, and Identity (1984)
Chapter 9 7 Beauvior Interview (1985)
Chapter 10 8 Sexism and the Philosophical Canon: On Reading Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1990)
Chapter 11 9 Lesbian Connections: Beauvoir and Feminism (1991)
Chapter 12 10 The Second Sex and the Roots of Radical Feminisim (1995)
Chapter 13 11 Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir, and The Second Sex (1997)
Chapter 14 12 Beauvoir's Early Philosophy: The 1927 Diary (1998)
Chapter 15 References
Chapter 16 Index
Chapter 17 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

In challenging Beauvoir's constructed identity, Simons, by taking up Beauvoir's demand to philosophize from lived experience, secures a place for both Beauvoir and herself within the lived realities of contemporary philosophical and feminist debate.

International Studies in Philosophy

In this book, Margaret Simons has done a critical service for philosophers and for feminists in filling out the story of Beauvoir's philosophy and contributions to the development of existentialism. Beauvoir's relationship with Richard Wright was an important aspect of her intellectual life that has been neglected by feminists for too long. And the early journal entries that Simons has uncovered to substantiate the claim that Beauvoir originated many key existential concepts are fascinating. Simons makes a carefully argued case without unwarranted extrapolations or hyperbole; in my mind, her arguments are decisive. Sartre certainly developed existentialism into a coherent theory, but it was Beauvoir's philosophical insights that made this theory the powerful influence it became. This book will become the classic work on this subject.

Linda Alcoff

Beauvior and The Second Sex: Feminism, Race, and the Origins of Existentialism is an important contribution to a genealogy of feminist philosophy and a model for feminist philosophers in its thoughtfulness, fairness, and attention to detail. It chronicles a series of important discoveries and insightful analyses about Beauvior's work, and is likely to inspire more.

Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy - Marguerite La Caze

Simon's work has been and continues to be important in the overall understanding of Beauvoir as a philosopher. The significance of this book for Beauvoir scholarship is immense. The significance of this book for continental philosophy in the United States is remarkably great. Simons illustrates the complexity of Beauvoir's philosophy, banishes those who would silence Beauvoir, and brings out the lasting importance of her thought.

Journal of Speculative Philosophy

In this book Simons, long ago convinced of Beauvoir's influence on Satre and her importance as a philosopher in her own right, sums up over twenty years of feminist scholarship. She also amplifies our recognition of Beauvoir's involvement with the question of racial oppression. This is a valuable contribution indeed!

Jessica Benjamin

Beauvoir scholarship in the U.S. owes more to Peg Simons than to any other individual scholar. Her work remains at the leading edge of the recent 'recovery' of Beauvoir by providing new texts and contexts for understanding the emergence of her philosophy. This collection of essays reveals Simons' brilliance in providing nuanced readings of Beauvoir that richly situate her work within both the philosophical and the feminist traditions.

Nancy Tuana

The best cutting-edge introduction to Beauvoir studies today.

The Philadelphia Inquirer - Carlin Romano

Simons opens a new chapter in Beauvoir scholarship; for her careful and considered readings of the newly discovered 1927 diary introduces us to the young Beauvoir taking up the project of becoming a philosopher and shows us that the roots of Beauvoir's distinct philosophical positions are laid in these early years.

Debra B. Bergoffen