Tag Archives: Jean-Paul Sartre

“The Delicacy of Women”

The Delicacy of Women There is a scene in Sartre’s magnum opus, Being and Nothingness, the book by which he influenced several generations of young people who wanted to be numbered among the existentialists. A man and a woman are … Continue reading →

Posted in academe, action, alienation, art, autonomy, chivalry, contradictions, cool, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, motherhood, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, power, psychology, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, time, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Intellectual Women”

“Intellectual Women”  Ugh. What a subject! I guess I’m one, but it doesn’t sound like a fun topic. In college, I had hesitated before deciding to major in philosophy. Would it look mannish? Would eligible bachelors be put off? When … Continue reading →

Posted in academe, action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, Hegel, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, institutional power, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, nineteenth-century, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, relationships, roles, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, time, twentieth century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Ambiguity”

“Ambiguity” If the current era were to gain a label, it might be called “The Age of Ambiguity.” Whether in self-praise or regret, there is wide agreement that nothing is clearly X or not-X.  Rather, everything is a bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in academe, culture, faith, history of ideas, philosophy, relationships, social conventions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Authenticity”

“Authenticity” Today I was talking long-distance to my friend Sally in Maine and mentioned that I wanted to write something on “authenticity.”  (Sally and I are lifelong friends.)  Her comment?  “Authenticity is staying friends over a lifetime.” Why was that … Continue reading →

Posted in art, culture, friendship, philosophy, social conventions, the problematic of woman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment