Episode #107 - Simone De Beauvoir Pt. 2 - The Ethics of Ambiguity

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Simone De Beauvoir Pt. 2 - The Ethics of Ambiguity

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This episode delves into Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity, where she argues that being human means living in constant tension between opposing forces—individual and collective, freedom and responsibility, subject and object. Instead of trying to escape this ambiguity through rigid beliefs or simplified identities, she urges us to face it honestly. True freedom, she says, isn’t just about pursuing our own goals—it also requires us to actively support the freedom of others. Beauvoir critiques common strategies people use to avoid this responsibility, such as blind obedience, apathy, or self-centered pursuits. She also challenges the idea that we can remain neutral or objective by staying detached from the world, calling this the “aesthetic attitude.” Instead, she argues that we are all part of history in motion, and we each play a role in shaping the future. Ethics, like art or science, doesn’t provide easy answers—it requires reflection, humility, and the courage to act in a world full of uncertainty.

Further Reading:

• The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir (1947)​

• The Philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir: Ambiguity, Conversion, Resistance by Penelope Deutscher (2008)​

• Simone de Beauvoir: The Making of an Intellectual Woman by Toril Moi (1994)​

See the full transcript here.

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