Advantages of Ambiguity: the Moral Philosophy of Simone de ...

THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY OF SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

ADVANTAGES OF AMBIGUITY: THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY OF SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

By AMY LEASK, B.A. HONS

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

McMaster University

?Copyright by Amy Leask, April 1999

MASTER OF ARTS (1999) McMaster University (Philosophy) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Advantages of Ambiguity: The Moral Philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir AUTHOR: Amy Leask, B.A. Hons (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. S. M. Najm, Dr. E. Boetzkes NUMBER OF PAGES: vi, lO2

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Abstract Simone de Beauvoir is known as a prolific novelist, a passionate political activist for the women's movement, and the long-time companion to the existential philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre. Her ideas as a philosopher, however, are often overshadowed by these alternate identities. The aim of this thesis is to reaffirm the value of de Beauvoir's philosophical contributions, in particular, those which pertain to moral philosophy.

In order to achieve this, I will first attempt to distinguish de Beauvoir's philosophy from that of Sartre. From a moral standpoint, de Beauvoir presents a more explicitly moral version of existentialism, one which takes as its focus the self-other tension left unresolved in Sartrean ontology. Second, and more importantly, I will discuss the broad scope of de Beauvoir's moral theory. Her own application of this theory to the situation of women may be complimented by possible applications to racial, environmental and other moral issues.

Perhaps the most significant contribution of this particular thesis lies in its methodological approach. Although studies of de Beauvoir's thought are numerous, those which deal exclusively with her philosophical works are rare. As a corrective to this, this thesis is based exclusively on examinations of de Beauvoir's philosophical works. This should not be interpreted as a rejection of de Beauvoir's contributions to existentialism and to moral philosophy through literature and autobiography. Instead,

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this thesis should be viewed as giving proper credit to her philosophical works as being worthy of examination on their own.

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