Philosophy as Passion: The Thinking of Simone De Beauvoir [Paperback]

Karen Vintges (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 1996

"Accessible, attractively written (and very well translated), Vintges's study is a convincing defence of de Beauvoir against some of the more common criticisms." —Radical Philosophy

"... Vintges's meticulous textual analysis, logical clarity, and sweeping originality guarantee her book its enduring value. Indispensable for students of Beauvoir's philosophy and existentialism, Vintges's book will prove valuable as well in courses on ethics, postmodernism, and feminist theory." —Ethics

"... a highly informative book." —Teaching Philosophy

"... important... well worth reading." —Library Journal

"... clearly written, comprehensive... will prove valuable as well in courses on ethics, postmodernism, and feminist theory." —Ethics

"The book is essential reading for those interested in Beauvoir and in existentialism generally." —Women's Philosophy Review

"The moral theory revealed offers ethical answers to some of today's most difficult issues." —AAUW Outlook

Philosophy as Passion refutes the commonly held view of Simone de Beauvoir as no more than an acolyte of Jean-Paul Sartre. Karen Vintges delineates Beauvoir's independent, original ethics and philosophy, drawing on the moral-philosophical treatises of the 1940s and '50s, The Second Sex, The Mandarins, and her autobiographical works. Vintges shows that Beauvoir's unique notions added an ethical dimension to existentialist philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How does one go about taking Jean Paul Sartre's nihilistic solipsism and transforming it into a positive ethics for living in society? The answer has been under our noses all along, but it has taken Karen Vintges to tease it out of Simone de Beauvoir's writings. In a triumph of reason over misconception, Vintges frees Beauvoir from Sartre's shadow by demonstrating the unique contribution of her thinking to existentialism and its continuing relevance to contemporary feminism. If you consider passion as incompatible with philosophy, Beauvoir and Vintges may change your mind. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Vintges's project is important. She argues against the traditions of misinterpreting de Beauvoir as a "mere" sociologist or literary author, her philosophical contributions as Sartre-Lite, and her work as only confession, a position most recently assumed by psychoanalytical feminists. Vintges argues for de Beauvoir as a paradigm non-foundational ethicist on the model of Foucault's aesthetics of existence. She sees de Beauvoir not only as a serious philosopher but one whose work speaks directly to the vexing issues of the nature of philosophy and of feminism after postmodernism. One of the major contributions of this smoothly translated texts is to interpret de Beauvoir in this manner, a task for which Vintges (philosophy, Univ. of Amsterdam) is well qualified. She articulates her argument well, but the details and their justification need filling in, partly because this work is so ambitious. Nonetheless, this book is well worth reading. For specialists, scholars, and interested lay readers.?Lee Horvitz, Miami Univ., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1ST edition (November 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253210704
• ISBN-13: 978-0253210708
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,552,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.