Heidegger’s conception of authenticity, is both appealing (in that it accords due significance to mortality) and troubling (in completely prioritising the self over others). The core concept can be retained while introducing an other-regarding elementcourtesy of Simone de Beauvoir’s early work on ethics. Fanon’s commentary on authenticity from Black Skin, White Masks develops the links between Heidegger and Beauvoir.
Ep 140/141 Aftershow on Simone De Beauvoir’s “Ethics of Ambiguity” feat. Jennifer Hansen
Mark and Danny Lobell welcome St. Lawrence University’s Jennifer Hansen to follow up on our episodes 140 and 141. Was Beauvoir really a Kantian? Do we find her description for founding ethics persuasive? Featuring PEL listeners Luke, Alex, Tiffany, Brittany, and Ken. Recorded 6/26/16.
Episode 141: Beauvoir’s Existentialism: Moral and Political Dilemmas
More on The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), this time on part III. Ep. 140 laid out man’s “ambiguity,” but what does that mean in terms of practical decision making? B. talks about the practical paradoxes of dealing with oppression and what it might mean to respect the individual given that there’s no ultimate, pre-existent moral rulebook to guide us, nothing we can point to to excuse the sacrifice of someone to a “greater good.”
Become a PEL Citizen to listen to the the Aftershow featuring Beauvoir scholar Jennifer Hansen.
End song: “Indiscretion (Mess Things Up)” from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.
Episode 141: De Beauvoir’s Existentialism: Moral and Political Dilemmas (Citizen Edition)
More on The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), this time on part III. Ep. 140 laid out man’s “ambiguity,” but what does that mean in terms of practical decision making? De B. talks about the practical paradoxes of dealing with oppression and what it might mean to respect the individual given that there’s no ultimate, pre-existent moral rulebook to guide us, nothing we can point to to excuse the sacrifice of someone to a “greater good.”
Continued from ep. 140. After this, listen to the the Aftershow featuring Jennifer Hansen.
End song: “Indiscretion (Mess Things Up)” from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.
Beauvoir, Freedom, and Feminism
What’s the connection between existentialism and feminism in Simone de Beauvoir’s work?
Episode 140: Beauvoir on the Ambiguous Human Condition
On The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), parts I and II. We return to existentialism! Instead of describing our predicament as “absurd,” de Beauvoir prefers “ambiguous”: We are a biological organism in the world, yet we’re also free consciousness transcending the given situation. Truly coming to terms with this freedom means not only understanding that you transcend any label, but also recognizing that your freedom requires the freedom of others. The full foursome discuss whether this attempt to ground an existentialist ethics works.
End song: “Reasonably Lonely,” by Mark Lint.
Episode 140: De Beauvoir on the Ambiguous Human Condition (Citizen Edition)
On The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), parts I and II. We return to existentialism! Instead of describing our predicament as “absurd,” de Beauvoir prefers “ambiguous”: We are a biological organism in the world, yet we’re also free consciousness transcending the given situation. Truly coming to terms with this freedom means not only understanding that you transcend any label that you or anyone else has put on you, but also recognizing that your freedom requires the freedom of others. The full foursome discuss whether this attempt to argue for an existentialist ethics works.
End song: “Reasonably Lonely,” by Mark Lint.