Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre

Existentialism Philosophy

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Introduction and BackgroundIntroduction and Background

Vocabulary

• Existentialism- Noun. A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

• Feminism- Noun. The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

Intro to Sartre (1905-1980)

• Born in Paris in 1905• Father dies at the age of one

– Grandfather asks him to become a writer publishes Les Temps Modernas

• studied at the École Normale Supérieure from 1924 to 1929 • Taught philosophy at 3 schools: Le Havre (1931), Laon and

Lycee Pasteur (1937-1939)• Captured by Nazis while serving as an army meteorologist

– Prisoner of war for one year– Participated in French resistance to German occupation

• Becomes known as the “Eiffel Tower of French Culture• Dies in April 1980

Intro To Sartre (1905-1980)Influences

• 1932- went to Berlin and studied philosophies of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger– Husserl – founder of

phenomenology – Heidegger- known for

exploration of “question of being”

• Simone de Beauvoir – influenced writing No Exit

Biography• Born January 9, 1908, in Paris with a lawyer for a dad

and a house mom• Made friends with Zaza who Beauvoir believed died

of a broken heart due to her parent’s weak marriage. • Studied philosophy in Paris where she met Sartre.• Taught philosophy but was fired due to a parent

complaint of corrupting their daughter. • Wrote many books including The Second Sex• Had affairs with many famous people, men and

women, but remained partners with Sartre.• She denied Sartre’s proposal• Died in 1964 after Sartre

Influences

• Her parents relationship

• Zaza

• Religion

• Sartre

Sartre’s philosophy

• Sartre chose to be atheist– Calls all humans to live without objective

meaning or religion• Created his own existentialism

– Accepts the dark tragedy of defeat, war and absurdity of human conditions

– Emotion is the random activity of consciousness projected into reality

Sartre Philosophy

• “There is no human nature…Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself” (Sartre)

• Soldier asks Sartre if he should fight in the war or help his mom who has fallen ill.– Sartre – soldier must create own

morality

Sartre’s Philosophy

• Emphasizes radical freedom with existence preceding essence

• Theory of freedom-one must choose what one will become = acceptance of one’s action

P: If the world has no logical reason for it’s existence then the creatures on earth have no logical reason for it’s impulses

P: The world has no logical reason for existence

C: therefore, creatures on earth have no logical reason for their impulses, because of this humans don’t have to follow their impulses and should follow their own ideas

What it means to be human and the human condition

Feminism

• “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.”• All people are born free, however, society makes

women to be the caretakers and home makers. • Society classifies women to be a certain way and

according to society, if women don’t act the way they should then they are not really women

• Simone however, believes this is restricting and a woman was born free and therefore doesn’t have to rely on her ability to care for a man or a family in order to call herself a woman

Human

• A human is born with impulses, but because the world is unreasonable, it would be unreasonable to follow those impulses in which the world provided.

• Humans are humans because they are born free with free will.

• Free will allows humans to do as they please and therefore people should use their freedom and not just do as others do.

Being and Nothingness

• “Every man is condemned to freedom” (Sartre).

No Exit

• “All over. It’s the end. The Earth has left me. Don’t turn your back on me-please. Take me in your arms,” (23)

Quote One: Second Sex

“Elegance is also a bondage; its benefits have to be paid for; and the cost is so dear that, now and then, a department-store detective catches a society woman or actress in the act of stealing perfumes, silk stockings, underwear, or the like.” (562)

Quote Two: Second Sex

“She often finds him attractive because he is quite the opposite of her husband.” (579)

Quote Three: Second Sex

“A man can always take a woman who is inferior, but it is degrading if a woman gives herself to a male who is socially beneath her.” (581)

Questions???

• Do you believe, like in Sartre’s theory of freedom, that we choose our own destiny? Or are we influenced by external factors that lead us to what we will become?

• Do you think that women’s roles as a caretaker affect their freedom?