Tragic Possibility, Tragic Ambiguity: William James And Simone de Beauvoir On Freedom and Morality

Authors

  • Mathew A. Foust Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65828/2skhn669

Keywords:

Ambiguity, existentialism, freedom, morality, pragmatism, Simone de Beauvoir, tragedy, William James

Abstract

This paper offers a comparative account of the relationship between freedom and morality in the thought of William James and Simone de Beauvoir. By combining elements of the thought of each, a compelling – albeit tragic – notion of the relationship between freedom and morality is derived.

Full text available
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.

References

Arp, K. (1999). Simone de Beauvoir's existentialist ontology. Philosophy Today, 43(3): 266-271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/philtoday199943316

Bauer, N. (2001). Simone de Beauvoir, Philosophy, & Feminism. New York: Columbia University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7312/baue11664

Bair, D. (1990). Simone de Beauvoir: A biography. New York: Simon and Schuster.

de Beauvoir, S. (1949). Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté. Trans. Frechtman, B. New York: Philosophical Library.

de Beauvoir, S. (1968). The Ethics of Ambiguity. Trans. Frechtman, B. New York: The Citadel Press.

de Beauvoir, S. (1989). The Second Sex. Trans. Parshley, H.M. New York: Vintage Books.

de Beauvoir, S. (1992). Force Of Circumstance. Trans. Howard, R. New York: Paragon House.

de Beauvoir, S. (2004). 'Pyrrhus and Cineas.' Trans. Timmerman, M. In Philosophical Writings. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Gert, B. (1999). Rationality. In Audi, R. (ed) The Cambridge Dictionary Of Philosophy, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139057509

James, W. (1978). Pragmatism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

James, W. (1979a). A pluralistic Universe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55094/holistence.390

James, W. (1979b). The Will to Believe And Other Essays In Popular Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/11061-000

James, W. (1983). The Principles of Psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/11059-000

Morgan, A. (2008). Simone de Beauvoir's ethics of freedom and absolute evil. Hypatia, 23(4): 75-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2008.tb01434.x

Pihlström, S. (1997). The prospects of transcendental pragmatism; Reconciling Kant and James. Philosophy Today, 41(3): 383-393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/philtoday199741340

Roth, J.K. (1969). Freedom And The Moral Life: The Ethics of William James. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press.

Siegfried, C.H. (1990). Second sex: Second thoughts. In Al-Hibri, A.Y. & Simons, M.A. (eds) Hypatia Reborn: Essays in Feminist Philosophy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/1976.0

Siegfried, C.H. (1996). Pragmatism and Feminism: Reweaving The Social Fabric. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Shusterman, R. (2003). Somaesthetics and The Second Sex: A pragmatist reading of a feminist classic. Hypatia, 18(4): 106-136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/hyp.2003.0089

Weiss, G. (2002). Simone de Beauvoir: An existential-phenomenological ethics. In Drummond, J.J. and Embree, L. (eds). Phenomenological Approaches to Moral Philosophy, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9924-5_6

Published

2013-01-01

Cite This Article

Tragic Possibility, Tragic Ambiguity: William James And Simone de Beauvoir On Freedom and Morality. (2013). Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 24(1), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.65828/2skhn669
Download: RIS · BibTeX

Related articles