Happiness is often considered our ultimate goal in life. This essay explores the political im- plications of this view, through the critique of happiness found in the works of Simone de Beauvoir and Sara Ahmed. Ahmed and Beauvoir consider happiness to be harmful as a po- litical goal, since it tends to diminish dimensions of power and conflict in favor of harmony, and is not compatible with a political philosophy based on freedom or liberation. Happiness is often confused with the ethical Good, but this essay argues that happiness does not ne- cessarily entail good things. Indeed, happiness can be used to justify oppression and unjust political systems.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 69 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to provide a phenomenological examination of Otherness as it relates to the experience of being black in the America. The project begins with a summary of the Otherness theories of Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. I then compare these accounts to "Black Consciousness" with a criticism of Sartre from Frantz Fanon. I use this criticism to construct new concepts that will help to better understand the experience of blackness. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Zugl.: Augsburg, Univ., Diss.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

La philosophe feministe Simone de Beauvoir eut une passion et une fascination pour les voyages depuis sa plus tendre enfance. Des son emancipation en 1929, dIe allait se lancer sur les routes de France, d'Europe puis du monde. Si cet aspect primordial de son existence est souvent mentionne, il n'est que rarement analyse et peu de chercheurs ont tente de l'integrer dans le schema plus large de la philosophie existentielle chere al'ecrivaine. Cette etude va s'interesser aux voyages en tant que pierres de fondation de l'existence de Sirnone de Beauvoir, au meme titre que ses ecrits et son engagement politique et feministe. En nous aidant de ses reuvres biographiques, de ses recits de voyages et de ses romans, mais aussi d'etudes reconnues, nous allons essayer de comprendre la problematique du voyage mais surtout de comprendre pourquoi celui-ci fut si important dans la construction de son ersonnage et dans l'edification singuliere et exemplaire de son existence. ien loin du canon feministe qui masque souvent d'autres aspects du parcours extraordinaire e Simone de Beauvoir, notre etude, qui se veut biographique et litteraire et, nous l'esperons, riginale non pas tant dans son approche structurelle, mais dans son analyse critique et dans es theories que nous avons voulu formulees. Il nous a semble necessaire de revoir et de reviser certains points biographiques et de les faire pivoter autour de la notion de voyage et de ecouverte de l' Ailleurs en tant que donnee de transcendance. Le voyage fut bien plus qu'un ivertissement mondain pour Simone de Beauvoir, il fut avant tout une maniere d'acquerir la iberte et de bien souvent la sauvegarder. 11 fut aussi un outil indispensable pour repousser 'eventualite supreme et redoutee : la mort, c'est a dire le neant selon la dialectique xistentialiste. Selon les informations en notre possession, il n' existe pas de theses octorales s'interessant irectement a ce sujet majeur (la plupart des theses beauvoiriennes ont ete soutenues en merique du Nord ou la philosophe est fort etudiee, la France la boude encore comme le emarque justement Toril Moi dans son ouvrage de reference cite dans notre bibliographie : Simone de Beauvoir : The Making of an Intellectual Woman). Nos recherches et nos erifications aupres de plusieurs specialistes et de nombreuses institutions superieures bibliotheques universitaires, nationales, centres de recherches ... ), nous ont convaincus que ce travail etait original dans son essence, bien qu'il suive une approche traditionnelle et ineraire de par son caractere biographique. Comme notre introduction l'indique clairement, notre recherche tente de depasser l'optique lassique d'etude de l'reuvre de Simone de Beauvoir qui est dominee par un ouvrage : Le euxieme sexe et par consequent peut etre consideree comme un travail purement original et otalement personnel malgre l'inclusion de nombreuses citations venant etayer notre propos. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

In her philosophical writings, Simone de Beauvoir argues our existence is defined by an inability to possess an objective understanding of our being. This fundamental ambiguity turns us towards a process of having-to-be – a series of attempts to define who we wish to become and the world we wish to establish. Through a reading of Beauvoir's novel, The Mandarins, I produce an outline of the political subject and a philosophy of political- ethical action that properly navigates this ambiguity. By committing to utopian political projects that aim at universalizing the conditions for collective self-emancipation, the political subject engages in political-ethical action that is a total manifestation of having- to-be at the same time as being.

Beauvoirian Therapy is a new interdisciplinary model of psychotherapeutic treatment for depressed patients who have suffered from oppression. By bridging together philosophy, theory, literature and psychology, Beauvoirian Therapy is presented in a condensed and accessible psychological treatment format which can be synergized with other current psychotherapeutic techniques. This unprecedented approach, in bringing literature to an applied therapeutic model, has been formulated by synthesizing central themes of Beauvoir’s thought, with particular emphasis on her philosophy drawn from The Ethics of Ambiguity (Beauvoir, 1947) and creating an applied model which can be adapted and modified. The themes are represented in quotations and are used as data. The treatment prompts and question segments have been inductively formulated to produce therapeutic explorative inferences to add relevant and pertinent factors to the explorative discussions. Beauvoirian Therapy is based on overarching Beauvoirian themes arranged and framed for a unique Beauvoirian approach to address modern-day oppression.

In her philosophical writings, Simone de Beauvoir argues our existence is defined by an inability to possess an objective understanding of our being. This fundamental ambiguity turns us towards a process of having-to-be – a series of attempts to define who we wish to become and the world we wish to establish. Through a reading of Beauvoir's novel, The Mandarins, I produce an outline of the political subject and a philosophy of political- ethical action that properly navigates this ambiguity. By committing to utopian political projects that aim at universalizing the conditions for collective self-emancipation, the political subject engages in political-ethical action that is a total manifestation of having- to-be at the same time as being.

No description available.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-105). Also available online.