Edinburgh University Press Simone de Beauvoir's Philosophy of Individuation: The Problem of the Second Sex

Laura Hengehold presents a new, Deleuzian reading of Simone de Beauvoir's phenomenology, the place of recognition in The Second Sex, the philosophical issues in her novels and the important role of her student diaries. Hengehold clarifies the elements of Deleuze's thought alone and in collaboration with Guattari that may be most useful to contemporary feminists who are simultaneously rethinking the becoming of gender and the becoming of philosophy. Most studies of Simone de Beauvoir situate her with respect to Hegel and the tradition of 20th-century phenomenology begun by Husserl and Heidegger, and often stress the importance of Hegel's struggle for recognition. Hengehold, in comparison, reads de Beauvoir through a Deleuzian lens, and looks at de Beauvoir's early interest in Bergson and Leibniz. Review Beginning from Gilles Deleuze's definition of philosophy as "an exercise in the creation of concepts," as she writes in the conclusion, Hengehold (philosophy, Case Western Reserve Univ.) contends that Beauvoir's life and writings participate in the generation of concepts including otherness, reciprocity, ambiguity, transcendence, oppression, and complicity ... Summing up: recommended.--J. A. Gauthier, University of Portland "CHOICE " From the Inside Flap Hengehold calls her book a gamble. What is the gamble? That Beauvoirs ideas become freer through Deleuze. This does not mean Beauvoir becomes a Deleuzian. She becomes, rather, the creator of concepts for an ontology of becoming. The gambles payoff? A Beauvoir weve never read before!Lynne Huffer, Emory UniversityAn experimental reading of The Second Sex through a Deleuzian lensMost studies of Simone de Beauvoir situate her with respect to the tradition of twentieth-century phenomenology begun by Husserl and Heidegger, as well as the model of consciousness found in Hegels struggle for recognition. Laura Hengehold offers an alternative reading of Beauvoirs phenomenology in The Second Sex from a Deleuzian standpoint, one designed to prevent recognition from becoming an Oedipal trap for womens individuation.Beauvoirs effort to prioritise becoming over being, her inquiry into the production of Otherness and her claim that sexism is a problem rather than a historical given may reflect early interests in Bergson and Leibniz, thinkers who were also crucial for Deleuze. Though focussing on The Second Sex, Hengehold shows how the task of developing an individuating response to historical events, including the representations that crystallise their sense, is repeated in Beauvoirs novels. In doing so, she identifies and clarifies the elements of Deleuzes thought, alone and in collaboration with Guattari, which may be most useful to contemporary feminists who are simultaneously rethinking the becoming of gender and the becoming of philosophy.Laura Hengehold is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Case Western Reserve University.Cover image: Invisible Cities: Zobeide, Matt Kish, 2014 © Matt KishCover design:[EUP logo]edinburghuniversitypress.comISBN 978-1-4744-1887-4Barcode From the Back Cover 'Hengehold calls her book a gamble. What is the gamble? That Beauvoir's ideas become freer through Deleuze. This does not mean Beauvoir becomes a Deleuzian. She becomes, rather, the creator of concepts for an ontology of becoming. The gamble's payoff? A Beauvoir we've never read before!' Lynne Huffer, Emory University An experimental reading of The Second Sex through a Deleuzian lens Most studies of Simone de Beauvoir situate her with respect to the tradition of twentieth-century phenomenology begun by Husserl and Heidegger, as well as the model of consciousness found in Hegel's struggle for recognition. Laura Hengehold offers an alternative reading of Beauvoir's phenomenology in The Second Sex from a Deleuzian standpoint, one designed to prevent recognition from becoming an Oedipal trap for women's individuation. Beauvoir's effort to prio