ABOUT THIS BOOK

Despite growing interest in her philosophy, Simone de Beauvoir remains widely misunderstood. She is typically portrayed as a mere intellectual follower of her companion, Jean-Paul Sartre. In Philosophical Writings, Beauvoir herself shows that nothing could be further from the truth.

Beauvoir's philosophical work suffers from a lack of English-language translation or, worse, mistranslation into heavily condensed popular versions. Philosophical Writings provides an unprecedented collection of complete, scholarly editions of philosophical texts that cover the first twenty-three years of Beauvoir's career, including a number of recently discovered works. Ranging from metaphysical literature to existentialist ethics, Philosophical Writings brings together diverse elements of Beauvoir's work while highlighting continuities in the development of her thought. Each of the translations features detailed notes and a scholarly introduction explaining its larger significance.

Revelatory and long overdue, Philosophical Writings adds to the ongoing resurgence of interest in Beauvoir's thought and to her growing influence on today's philosophical curriculum.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) was a French existentialist philosopher. Her works include Ethics of Ambiguity (1947) and The Second Sex (1949). Margaret A. Simons is a professor of philosophy at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and author of Beauvoir and the Second Sex.Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, adopted daughter and literary executor of Simone de Beauvoir, is the editor of Lettres à Sartre and many other works by Beauvoir. Marybeth Timmermann is a contributing translator and editor of "The Useless Mouths" and Other Literary Writings, and other works by Beauvoir. Mary Beth Mader is a professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis and the author of Sleights of Reason: Norm, Bisexuality, Development.

REVIEWS

"A valuable addition to collections of philosophy, feminism, and modern French literature. Recommended."--Choice

"What emerges from the essays Philosophical Writings collects will neither shock nor surprise Beauvoir scholars but is sure to delight. . . . The editors and contributors to Philosophical Writings have crafted an engaging text that is sure to encourage a deeper interest in the study of Beauvoir and her place in the philosophical canon."--Hypatia

"This work is a treasure. Now, English-speaking readers who are not fluent in French will have the opportunity to read these selections for themselves. Each piece is preceded by a very helpful introduction and commentary by a well-known Beauvoir scholar, who places the piece in context and notes how it relates to one or more of Beauvoir's better-known works that have long been translated into English. Each selection also has its own translator (distinct from the commentator). The translations read beautifully, and they also have appropriately detailed scholarly notes, which make the selections even more accessible to students. . . . There is no other book to compete with this one."--Claudia Card, editor of Cambridge Companion to Simone de Beauvoir

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
 Preface to the Beauvoir Series
 Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir
 Acknowledgments
 Introduction
 1. Analysis of Claude Bernard's Introduction to the
 Study of
 Experimental Medicine [1924]
 Introduction by Margaret Simons and Hélène N.
 Peters
 Analysis of Claude Bernard's Introduction to the
 Study of
 Experimental Medicine
 2. Two Unpublished Chapters from She Came to Stay
 [1935-37]
 Introduction by Edward Fullbrook
 Two Unpublished Chapters from She Came to Stay
 3. Pyrrhus and Cineas (1944)
 Introduction by Debra Bergoffen
 Pyrrhus and Cineas
 4. A Review of Phenomenology of Perception by Merleau-
 Ponty
 (1945)
 Introduction by Sara Heinämaa
 A Review of Phenomenology of Perception by
 Merleau-Ponty
 5. Moral Idealisme and Political Realism (1945)
 Introduction by Sonia Kruks
 Moral Idealisme and Political Realism
 6. Existentialism and Popular Wisdom (1945)
 Introduction by Eleanore Holveck
 Existentialism and Popular Wisdom
 7. Jean-Paul Sartre [1945]
 Introduction by Karen Vintges
 Jean-Paul Sartre
 8. An Eye for an Eye (1946)
 Introduction by Kristana Arp
 An Eye for an Eye
 9. Literature and Metaphysics (1946)
 Introduction by Margaret Simons
 Literature and Metaphysics
 10. Introduction to an Ethics of Ambiguity (1946)
 Introduction by Gail Weiss
 Introduction to an Ethics of Ambiguity
 11. An Existentialist Looks at Americans (1947)
 Introduction by Shannon M. Mussett
 An Existentialist Looks at Americans
 12. What is Existentialism? (1947)
 Introduction by Nancy Bauer
 What is Existentialism?
 Contributors
 Index