Beauvoir and Western Thought from Plato to Butler by Shannon M. Mussett and William S. Wilkerson (eds) [Book Review]

Abstract

Beauvoir and Western Thought from Plato to Butler is a collection 12 essays on Simone de Beauvoir, discussing her relation to or engagement with individual philosophers ranging from Rousseau and Marx to Bergson and Kant. The contributors, most of them American professors of philosophy, seek to turn the spotlight on Beauvoir’s engagement with the Western philosophy tradition, examining the dialogue with her influences and contemporaries and her impact on later thinkers. The volume concludes with an essay by bell hooks discussing Beauvoir’s influence on her own work. The essays are approachable, but do not, as a result, lack important philosophical engagement or analysis. In fact, these essays not only broaden our understanding of Beauvoir’s philosophical work but also suggest new ways in which we can approach some of the best-known philosophers through her work; the essays are not restricted to addressing influence but further the analysis of other philosophers treated in the volume. Although the volume leaves out a major part of Beauvoir’s work in place of more ‘philosophical’ work, this is exactly its intentions and it is a breath of fresh air in the study of Beauvoir’s thought.