French Existentialist
[1908-1986]
Undoubtedly, De Beauvoir is most noted for the work she contributed to women's independence, and the seminal experiences of her early life help explain why she went down this path in life.
De Beauvoir was born into a Bougoisie class family and at an early age converted to atheism. At the same time, she decided to devote her life to philosophy and writing.
She graduated from the Sorbonne in 1929, and after writing her thesis on Leibniz, her interest in philosophy bloomed. Simon went on to teach high school and her burgeoning philosophical thoughts gained even more steam. Eventually, she would become life long friends with Jean Paul Sartre, who would have a profound effect on her philosophical method.
Some of De Beavoir's main ideas include:
Sartre's ontology of being-for-itself and being-in-itself.
De Beauvoir believes that human beings are creatures who are free.
Additionally, De Beauvoir believes that free will determines the morality of one's act. The better the act the more freedom that exists.
Some Of De Beauvoir's famous works were:
Ethics of Ambiguity [1948]
Pyrrhus et Cineas [1944]
L'Envitee [1943]
The Second Sex- De Beauvoir's most famous work, where she investigates the history of women's oppression. She culminates the book by pronouncing that "women is not born, but made".
Other sources of information
The Window-Simone De Beauvoir
Existentialism and Simone De Beauvoir
Simone De Beauvoir
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