Simone de Beauvoir on love and open relationships

In this presentation, "Inventing Fidelity: Beauvoir on Polyamory," for the Simone de Beauvoir Society's 2022 meeting, Dr. Ellie Anderson considers whether Simone de Beauvoir's existential philosophy of love and open relationships suggests that she is a thinker of polyamory, or whether her views are limited to hierarchical and quasi-monogamous forms of romantic love.
Sorry for the poor quality--this was recorded from Zoom!
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[@ThinkTwice2222]

Being with multiple people without comparing them is impossible. At minimum, we're compared to the idea of being alone, comparison is already the default. A relationship in that flux can not fully flourish

[@Jack-xc2ys]

Not addressing the harem personally except for sex and demanding the women all meet a particular physical appearance might change that.

[@koftu]

Has that been your experience, or are you merely musing? If the former, I'm sorry that you have had that experience: Nobody deserves to be compared.

[@monacojerry]

I think your discussion of fidelity is the heart of this paper.

[@chhinduram70]

Nice session miss professor

[@user-tq6hj8bh9y]

I just want to feel love, I know I feel it ... but its just an illusion, a hologram of of my predictive reflexes, a goal that I will never fulfill.

[@naomisaka]

I love your podcast, but I would appreciate so much a better sound quality! Some parts are really hard to understand for me as non native speaker.

[@OverthinkPodcastPhilosophy]

Hi there! Our sound quality on our audio podcast is professionally done. We don't have the resources for professional audio editing of the videos, and this video in particular was just a Zoom recording from a conference (hence the bad audio quality). You can check out the audio podcast with much better sound quality here: overthinkpodcast.com Thanks!

[@drewsorenson4328]

As someone in a non hierarchical poly relationship (everyone being queer in the relationship helps) I’ve really enjoyed similar criticisms of marriage and relationships from queer anarchist. Edit: since anarchists perspectives were mentioned at the end there ~ the most interesting thing living the experience has been the way we initially deconstructed certain expectations and once we had an idea of openness then building up expectations and understandings of what love was for each other. So not pure “anarchism in love” since it is a distinct mutual respect and deep commitment for the other outside of one’s own pure love centered hedonism.

[@michaels5425]

I thought anarchism was consensus-driven expectations from scratch where anyone was free to walk away…so isn’t that anarchistic love?

[@stuartwray6175]

'Pure love-centred hedonism' - what could possibly go wrong?

[@pedrohenriquedadaltdequeir4859]

What you describe as "not pure anarchist love" actually sounds very anarchistic. It fulfills mutual-aid. Anarchism recognises that there's greater freedom in interdependence than in isolation.

[@pinecone421]

Yay 🥳🥳 keep posting

[@OverthinkPodcastPhilosophy]

Thanks for your support! We plan to continue regularly updating with new videos :)

[@williamseiffert4710]

Thanks!

[@Ronin3Zero9]

“¿Desde qué estrella hemos caído para venir a encontrarnos aquí?”

[@monacojerry]

I have a few questions that are not directly on the issue of polyamory and love. I am currently reading the essays in Merleau-Ponty’s “Adventures of the Dialectic”. It occurred to me that de Beauvoir and Sartre never drew a direct connection between their ideas of love and the struggle for a better society. Is there a radical left existentialist view that can connect their notions of “personal” relations with a praxis to change society? Given the current political situation, I would like to once again begin thinking how my political and activist choices integrate with my everyday life.

[@aman_insaan]

Heyy, I don't particularly know what are your questions regarding this but broadly speaking, a book by Erich Fromm - "The Art of Loving" may help. Atleast it tries to find a links between individual and society. Erich Fromm wasn't an activist kind of man but he was a leftist at his core. Obviously, read with your personal insights and critical understanding. But Fromm is the one to whom I go back to again and again.

[@monacojerry]

@aman_insaan Lovely... I read all of Erich Fromm I could get my hands on when I was 16, close to 50 years ago. I think I've reread ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM twice. I think my question was more related to the concept of "situation" in de Beauvoir and Sartre. I will try to restate it in a more coherent form some other time. Thank you.

[@amiir.1243]

Keep posting. ✋🏾🎻

[@chhinduram70]

How can I contact you miss professor

[@eveleconomakis2850]

Nice, but reading a text doesn't work.

[@johnparadise3134]

I think your sound is a little off on this one. I’m gonna have to listen to another one to compare. But I think the other ones have all had very clear audio.

[@joshbone9600]

It's a zoom recording. That's why the audio is compressed. But it's still easy to understand IMO

[@clarkharney8805]

Can the human-made concept of love involve radical mutual generosity of self and other that exceeds calculation, i.e. reciprocity?

[@Dave.Mustaine.Is.Genius]

Every concept exceed calculation, as Heidegger and Islamic philosophy suggest.

[@RobWickline]

could you recommend some writers, thinkers, or theoreticians in the contemporary setting of this field you call 'philosophy of love' that concern themselves with the nature of polyamory? i have been involved in an open relationship for about 5 years and in a polyamorous relationship with the introduction of my boyfriend about 2 years ago. i am in a place where i am really hungering to enter into dialogue with other people thinking seriously about the nature of polyamory in both theoretical and practical ways.

[@OverthinkPodcastPhilosophy]

Hi, Dr. Anderson here. I am actually co-organizing a conference on this topic in November, and we plan to publish an edited volume on the basis of the conference papers! In the meantime, I recommend the work of (some philosophers and some other scholars in other disciplines) Elizabeth Brake, Carrie Jenkins, Justin Clardy, Mimi Schippers, Kim Tallbear, Meg-John Barker, and Luke Brunning, to name a few

[@OverthinkPodcastPhilosophy]

This is the conference: www.philosophyandnonmonogamies.com/

[@RobWickline]

thanks so much!!!

[@koftu]

@@OverthinkPodcastPhilosophy Website no longer extant 😕

[@selingenc5888]

Can we have access to the 'handout' you mention somewhere

[@dystopiaahoy]

The audio quality is atrocious. This is a real pity because your voice is a pleasure to listen to.

[@artford8674]

Audio is not clear. Always love listening to you but this is a strain.

[@StephenMBauer]

I wish the sound quality was better

[@shruthijayavenukumar]

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸💗💗💗💗💗💗

[@gregfulton2539]

and Satre put her in a triangle with another woman later in life, well "put her in," rather however it came about...

[@jordanthomas4379]

She was pure evil

[@alice-sr2kd]

genuinely asking: why?

[@seandavidson5085]

@@alice-sr2kd Her letters indicate that she slept with young pupils. She was accused of grooming them for Sartre, which she sometimes did, and eventually lost her teaching job because of it.

[@PinoyAbnoy]

how young? as young as 15 to 13?

[@PinoyAbnoy]

@@ReverendDr.Thomas whats your political ideology? right wing conservative?

[@Dave.Mustaine.Is.Genius]

@@seandavidson5085 wdym "grooming them fer Sartre"? Also, she did not probably sleep with her students.