Sex and Philosophy

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were two of the most brilliant, influential, and scandalous intellectuals of the 20th century. They are remembered as much for the lives they led as for their influence on the way we think. Their committed but notoriously open union created huge controversy in their lifetime. And even before their deaths they had become one of history's legendary couples, renowned for the passion, daring, humour and intellectual intensity of their relationship.This fascinating book presents a biography of Sartre and de Beauvoir's relationship and offers some highly original theories relating to the extent of de Beauvoir's contribution to their shared ideas. Edward and Kate Fullbrook contend that it was de Beauvoir's demand for sexual freedom that dictated the open terms of their relationship and that it was in fact de Beauvoir who was the more powerful thinker of the two. Through a thorough examination of Sartre and de Beauvoir's major works, the authors present a compelling story of their romantic and intellectual relationships.

"In their accessible overview of Sartre's and de Beauvoir's philosophies, the Fullbrooks reiterate the argument that they make in earlier works: Sartre plagiarized de Beauvoir's thoughts, laid bare in de Beauvoir's novel She Came To Stay...Leveraging the tools of the biographer, literary critic, philosopher, and historian, the authors offer a thorough investigation of the Sartre-de Beauvoir story, attempting to distinguish the truth from the legend of their relationship. Recommended for academic libraries." - Leigh Anne Palmer, Library Journal, October 1, 2008--Sanford Lakoff "Library Journal ", Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name: "Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-fareast-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: #0400;} "Leveraging the tools of the biographer, literary critic, philosopher, and historian, the authors offer a thorough investigation of the Sartre-de Beauvoir story, attempting to distinguish the truth from the legend of their relationship. Recommended for academic libraries." Library Journal, "Other biographers may challenge the standard account of Beauvoir and Sartre's sexual relationship, but only Edward and Kate Fullbrook pose as radical a challenge to the standard account of their philosophical relationship, arguing that Beauvoir, rather than Sartre, originated much of the philosophy they shared. Their new book strengthens their case with some interesting new material, including a discussion of Beauvoir's and Sartre's work on the phenomenon of absence." - Margaret A. Simons, William and Margaret Going Professor, Department of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA, Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4!--/* Style Definitions */p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-parent: "";margin:0in;margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";}@page Section1{size:8.5in 11.0in;margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;mso-header-margin: .5in;mso-footer-margin: .5in;mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1{page: Section1;} "/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name: "Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow: yes;mso-style-parent: "";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: #0400;mso-fareast-language: #0400;mso-bidi-language: #0400;}"Leveraging the tools of the biographer, literarycritic, philosopher, and historian, the authors offer a thorough investigationof, Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name: "Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow: yes;mso-style-parent: "";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: #0400;mso-fareast-language: #0400;mso-bidi-language: #0400;}"Leveraging the tools of the biographer, literarycritic, philosopher, and historian, the authors offer a thorough investigationof the Sartre-de Beauvoir story, attempting to distinguish the truth from thelegend of their relationship. Recommended for academic libraries." --Library Journal

Edward Fullbrook is a Research Fellow in Economics at the University of the West of England, UK. Together with his late wife, Kate Fullbrook, he is the co-author of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend (Basic Books, 1994) and Simone de Beauvoir: A Critical Introduction (Polity, 1997). Kate Fullbrook was Professor of English at the University of the West of England until her death in 2003. Together with her husband, Edward Fullbrook, she co-authored Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend (Basic Books, 1994) and Simone de Beauvoir: A Critical Introduction (Polity, 1997).