¶ … Personal Freedom and Others
Simone de Beauvoir's essay the Ethics of Ambiguity, in which she outlines an ethics derived from existentialism, largely drawing from and responding to the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, is broken into three main sections and a brief conclusion. The second section is entitled Personal Freedom and Others. In it, de Beauvoir contends that morality and free will are the same thing, or at least two sides of the same coin.
She begins her argument by referring to Descartes' assertion that man is unhappy because he used to be a child. The child's world is based on an idea of "for-other;" that is, life for a childhood is seen as preparation for the time when the child will be as important and complete as adults seem. When most children reach adolescence, the image of the world as one with intrinsic meaning and substance begins to disintegrate, and true freedom is revealed in the meaninglessness of the world -- or rather, in the individual's ability and need to shape their own subjective meaning. But the child was unknowingly shaping his character throughout childhood, and though this cannot foretell the specifics of moral choice, it creates the attitude from which the individual's moral choice springs. Thus, free will -- as demonstrated by moral choice -- is in actuality a series of discrete and connected choices, each dependent on those preceding it as they shape the individual's attitude.
De Beauvoir then describes the sub-man, who wishes he did not exist. Yet he is the very consciousness that is willing this non-existence, and is thus self-defeating. To escape his subjectivity, he immerses himself in the object, and Lives fro a Thing rather tan for himself. She derides nihilist thought, too, claiming that though neither the world nor the individual have inherent and objective justifications, as the nihilists claim, it is the individual's responsibility to create that justification. Several other attitudes, given archetypal names like "the adventurer" and "the passionate man" are described, along with their mistaken takes on morality and free will. The truly free will, de Beauvoir claims, is in understanding and accepting -- indeed, actively engaging with -- the fact that the future and the world are ultimately unknowable, and therefore subjectively creatable.
Simon De Beauvoir "Ambiguity" in Simone de Beauvoir's "The Ethics of Ambiguity" promotes the idea that people need to abandon any preconception when trying to help a person. In his struggle to help the respective individual, one would have to concentrate on putting behind him or her everything society taught him or her and try to devise an original solution -- one that would actually help the person in need rather
" Soon thereafter Marian begins struggling with eating and acting more feminine (out of character) due to the pressures imposed by the expectations of society. Atwood's implication is that this expectation of femininity dehumanizes woman, restricting their potential to self-actualize and personal freedom. The author's portrayal of Marian as feminine and weak indicates she is programmed to act this way and unable to consciously behave in any other manner. Marian
I believe the fact that the entire house is covered in wood paneling is symbolic of my desire to have some freedom. On the one hand I cling to them, as evidenced by the storm trying to take me away, but the wood paneling can be seen as representative of being confined and closed in. The paneling is not harmed during the storm and is as sturdy and strong as
Existentialism: A History Existentialism is a philosophical school of thought that addresses the "problem of being" (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2010). Existentialist questions involve the nature of man in relation to the universe, the subjective nature of "I" versus the objective "we," the creation and measure of meaning in a world with no intrinsic meaning, standards of morality in the absence of Divine Law (God), and the creation and measure of success in
It is key to understanding the author's view of love and even her own status as a woman and as a thinker. Of course, the book can simply be read as a love story of infidelity and sexual liberty gone wrong in the face of an ever-changing political society in a state of national and European chaos. But the Mandarins de Beauvoir referred to were also the elite, the
In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now