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samreads97's review against another edition
4.0
I did it! I read philosophy! Did I understand all of it? No! But I do actually feel like I got something out of it, and the fact that I finished it is a personal triumph. It got really redundant the last 30 pages, and some of the references and philosophical “proofs” definitely went over my head, but I did get something out of this! I loved the whole idea of ambiguity, namely in the individual vs. mankind as a whole. I am a STAUNCH collectivist, probably due to my hatred of Ayn Rand and communist leanings. However I loved how this book framed the importance of the individual, just not at the expense of freedom. Beauvoir rightly critiques communist philosophy for wanting mankind to assimilate into one homogenous mass, from our art to self-expression to how we structure society. I think it’s an important to say, yes, mankind can come together and everyone deserves freedom (even… *gasp* poor people and minorities!), but not at the expense of individual thinking and culture and pursuits. I also love her rejection of Nihilism and even Absurdism (which I like much more than Nihilism) and I feel like I actually understand better what existentialism is. I will probably not retain a ton of this, and like I said, a lot of this was probably lost on me, but I read it and I’m glad I did.
isabelromero's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
I truly loved this. de Beuavoir’s proofs are brilliant and I have never resonated so well on the topics of religion, philosophy, ethics, and art like I did in this book. It will be something I return to often.
philip_rudy's review against another edition
5.0
The philosophy is very individualistic, yet not solipsistic, which I like. It's at tough read, but you can pull a lot of good stuff out of it, and I enjoyed reading it.
jroberts3456's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
livyyy's review against another edition
5.0
Sartre this, Camus that. Enough!! De Beauvoir presents the most realistic treatise of existentialism (or existentialist adjacent philosophy). Although I love Sartre and Camus, they lack sobriety, and their works, although interesting, felt more like a fantasy. The Ethics of Ambiguity for me filled the gaps I found in Sarte’s philosophy. De Beauvoir was able to breathe ethics into an ideology I once considered a self-centered. I credit her book as the one that got me HOOKED. I was completely enamored by De Beauvoir’s explanation on how existentialism was never a philosophy of complete personal freedom and a rejection of meaning. This book of existentialist ethics I believe is severely under read and should be considered essential elaboration for those interested in Sartre.
michestb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0