Simone de Beauvoir
France, twentieth century
She connected situated freedom with interdependence and analysed how women are made into the Other.
Historical context
The Ethics of Ambiguity appeared in 1947 and The Second Sex in 1949. Her works connect ethics, concrete experience, and criticism of social relations.
Overview
If a society treats one group as an exception to a norm defined by another, it can narrow its opportunities to shape a life. The analysis of otherness attends to that relationship and the conditions sustaining it.
Main claims
Freedom is realised in concrete situations and is connected to other people’s possibilities.
Debates and nuances
Material and social obstacles affect concrete opportunities to exercise freedom.
This entry provides educational context.