Episode 51, Simone de Beauvoir (Part III - The Second Sex)

<p>Simone de Beauvoir was a pioneer for the second-wave feminist movement and one of the most famous philosophers to have lived. Strikingly, Beauvoir did not label herself as a philosopher, since she never attempted to provide an original treatise which aimed to fully encapsulate the truth of the world or the human condition. Instead, she considered herself as a writer, commentator and novelist. Beauvoir's identification should not, however, discredit her as a philosopher. Jean-Paul Sartre's work on existentialism is heavily indebted to Beauvoir's careful eye and scholarly expertise, and her book <em>The Ethics of Ambiguity</em>, is considered by many as one of the most significant texts in moral philosophy and existentialism; the ethical text which Sartre promised, but never produced.</p> <p>Simone de Beauvoir's most famous text is <em>The Second Sex</em>; a detailed examination on what it means to be a woman through the lens of existentialism. <em>The Second Sex</em> was highly controversial at the time of its publication; receiving backlash from certain areas of male-dominated academia and the press. Nevertheless, it is still considered to be one of the greatest works in feminist philosophy.</p>