Michael Retta
April 6, 2015
PHIL 120W
In some sense, the ideas presented in Sartre’s outline of existentialism are the starting point of Beauvoir’s exploration of what it means to be woman. Before you can define, differentiate or reconcile what it means to be man or woman, you must first understand what it means to exist. Sartre believes that we all struggle from authenticity.
He also believes we suffer from bad faith. Bad Faith is often called lying to oneself, self deception, or denying to oneself the truth of something one “really” knows is true. Having said that Beauvoir is in bad faith because she believes women are in a constant discriminatory struggle even though their uniqueness might even enhance their power as a collective. Furthermore …show more content…
According to Sartre we all live with bad faith. In the text he gives an example of bad faith by describing a waiter in a café. Sartre believes that the waiter was trying to hard to be a waiter.
Beauvoir is primarily concerned with differentiating and defining the distinction between both men and women. In her eyes, the main focus of this differentiation lies in her belief that women are forced to face a unique form of discrimination. Beauvoir would agree with Sartre’s views on existentialism, that ‘existence precedes essence.’ However, in the Second Sex her main focus is centered around how to define what it means to be a women and the different forms of discrimination they face, rather than exploring existence in its entirety. The Second Sex opens up with Beauvoir explaining how women have always been inferior to men. She state:
A man would never set out to write a book on the peculiar situation of the human male. But if I wish …show more content…
In her text she brings to attention that using words that focus solely on men such as “mankind” represents how men have believed themselves to be the superior of the two sexes. Yet, she also believes that the plight of women in totality is unique. She agrees that women are not the only group discriminated against. However, she believes that these different groups of people have united together in their struggle; a unity that has not been reached amongst women yet at that point in time. She
April 6, 2015
PHIL 120W
In some sense, the ideas presented in Sartre’s outline of existentialism are the starting point of Beauvoir’s exploration of what it means to be woman. Before you can define, differentiate or reconcile what it means to be man or woman, you must first understand what it means to exist. Sartre believes that we all struggle from authenticity.
He also believes we suffer from bad faith. Bad Faith is often called lying to oneself, self deception, or denying to oneself the truth of something one “really” knows is true. Having said that Beauvoir is in bad faith because she believes women are in a constant discriminatory struggle even though their uniqueness might even enhance their power as a collective. Furthermore …show more content…
According to Sartre we all live with bad faith. In the text he gives an example of bad faith by describing a waiter in a café. Sartre believes that the waiter was trying to hard to be a waiter.
Beauvoir is primarily concerned with differentiating and defining the distinction between both men and women. In her eyes, the main focus of this differentiation lies in her belief that women are forced to face a unique form of discrimination. Beauvoir would agree with Sartre’s views on existentialism, that ‘existence precedes essence.’ However, in the Second Sex her main focus is centered around how to define what it means to be a women and the different forms of discrimination they face, rather than exploring existence in its entirety. The Second Sex opens up with Beauvoir explaining how women have always been inferior to men. She state:
A man would never set out to write a book on the peculiar situation of the human male. But if I wish …show more content…
In her text she brings to attention that using words that focus solely on men such as “mankind” represents how men have believed themselves to be the superior of the two sexes. Yet, she also believes that the plight of women in totality is unique. She agrees that women are not the only group discriminated against. However, she believes that these different groups of people have united together in their struggle; a unity that has not been reached amongst women yet at that point in time. She