Sex and Philosophy: Rethinking de Beauvoir and Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were two of the most brilliant, influential, and scandalous intellectuals of the 20th century. They are remembered as much for the lives they led as for their influence on the way we think. Their committed but notoriously open union created huge controversy in their lifetime. And even before their deaths they had become one of history’s legendary couples, renowned for the passion, daring, humour and intellectual intensity of their relationship.This fascinating book presents a biography of Sartre and de Beauvoir’s relationship and offers some highly original theories relating to the extent of de Beauvoir’s contribution to their shared ideas. Edward and Kate Fullbrook contend that it was de Beauvoir’s demand for sexual freedom that dictated the open terms of their relationship and that it was in fact de Beauvoir who was the more powerful thinker of the two. Through a thorough examination of Sartre and de Beauvoir’s major works, the authors present a compelling story of their romantic and intellectual relationships.

Edward Fullbrook is a Research Fellow in Economics at the University of the West of England, UK. Together with his late wife, Kate Fullbrook, he is the co-author of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend (Basic Books, 1994) and Simone de Beauvoir: A Critical Introduction (Polity, 1997). Kate Fullbrook was Professor of English at the University of the West of England until her death in 2003. Together with her husband, Edward Fullbrook, she co-authored Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre: The Remaking of a Twentieth-Century Legend (Basic Books, 1994) and Simone de Beauvoir: A Critical Introduction (Polity, 1997).