Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)

French Writer, Philosopher, Feminist, Teacher, Socialist

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), French writer, philosopher, existentialist, teacher, and socialist, is regarded as one of the leading feminists of the 20th century. She is famous for her masterpiece The Second Sex (Le Deuxième Sexe), and her existential philosophical work The Ethics of Ambiguity.

De Beauvoir was born in Paris, on January 9, 1908, where she lived for most of her life.

Read more — Simone de Beauvoir

Works by Simone de Beauvoir

• She Came to Stay, 1943
• The Second Sex, 1949
• The Mandarins, 1954
• Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, 1958
• The Prime of Life, 1960
• The Coming of Age, 1970
• All Said and Done, 1972
• When Things of the Spirit Comes First, 1979
• Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre, 1981

Voltaire

This day, November 21 (1694-1778), is the birthday of Voltaire, French philosopher, historian, playwright, and poet. He was born Francois Marie Arouet, in Paris.

Voltaire helped sparked the Enlightenment in France and he was known for his wit and brilliance. He spent most of later life in exile, after the publication of his Philosophical Letters (1734) and wrote most of his work from England.

His ethical philosophy expressed in his Essay on Morals (1756), was founded on toleration and practical humanitarianism, as opposed to dogmatic theology.

One of Voltaire’s famous quotes:  “To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.”

Here’s a full article of Voltaire — Voltaire and the Age of Reason.