Simone de Beauvoir, Philosophy, and Feminism (Gender and Culture Series)

In the introduction to The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir notes that "a man never begins by establishing himself as an individual of a certain sex: his being a man poses no problem." Nancy Bauer begins her book by asking: "Then what kind of a problem does being a woman pose?" Bauer's aim is to show that in answering this question The Second Sex dramatizes the extent to which being a woman poses a philosophical problem. In exploring what it might mean to philosophize as a woman, Beauvoir produced a book that not only sparked the contemporary feminist movement but also, Bauer argues, made an important but still profoundly undervalued contribution to the philosophical tradition. Booknews Bauer (philosophy, Tufts U.) argues that in formulating the question of what kind of problem being a woman poses, Beauvoir's dramatizes the extent to which being a woman poses a philosophical problem, that is, a problem for and of philosophy. The book's central achievement, she says, to forge connections between the idea of being a woman and the idea of philosophy, to bind the overcoming of the problem of being a woman with overcoming a certain conception of the philosophical. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) In the introduction to The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir notes that "a man never begins by establishing himself as an individual of a certain sex: his being a man poses no problem." Nancy Bauer begins her book by asking: "Then what kind of a problem does being a woman pose?" Bauer's aim is to show that in answering this question The Second Sex dramatizes the extent to which being a woman poses a philosophical problem. This book is a call for philosophers as well as feminists to turn, or return to, The Second Sex. Bauer shows that Beauvoir's magnum opus, written a quarter-century before the development of contemporary feminist philosophy, constitutes a meditation on the relationship between women and philosophy that remains profoundly undervalued. She argues that the extraordinary effect The Second Sex has had on women's lives, then and now, can be traced to Beauvoir's discovery of a new way to philosophize--a way grounded in her identity as a woman. In offering a new interpretation of The Second Sex, Bauer shows how philosophy can be politically productive for women while remaining genuinely philosophical.-- Provided by publisher 1. Is Feminist Philosophy A Contradiction In Terms? : First Philosophy, The Second Sex, And The Third Wave -- 2. I Am A Woman, Therefrom I Think : The Second Sex And The Meditations -- 3. The Truth Of Self-certainty : A Rendering Of Hegel's Master-slave Dialectic -- 4. The Conditions Of Hell : Sartre On Hegel -- 5. Reading Beauvoir Reading Hegel : Pyrrhus Et Cinéas And The Ethics Of Ambiguity -- 6. The Second Sex And The Master-slave Dialectic -- 7. The Struggle For Self In The Second Sex. Nancy Bauer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [281]-292) And Index. Although most of us have come to terms politically with the idea of feminist philosophy, there is ample evidence that for the most part neither feminists nor philosophers wish to bestow unqualified intellectual approval on it. Nancy Bauer is assistant professor of philosophy at Tufts University. PHI027000,Philosophy/Movements/Deconstruction,SOC010000,Social Science/Feminism & Feminist Theory