A note on existentialist love
December 8th 2006 20:46
Simone de Beuavoir -- Chicago -- 1954
So what does one make of this?
Well, the following might be common initial reactions:
-- free love cheering;
-- booing, and condemning the arrangement on extra-existential grounds ("it's immoral in the light of Christian ethics/utilitarianism/rights-based ethics, and does harm to other people", etc or "it's counter to self-interest because it's psychologically unhealthy", etc)
-- writing it off as a peculiarity;
-- being cynical generally, particularly of Sartre;
-- inquiring into whether the arrangement in theory or practice contradicts principles of existentialism (for instance, is existential love based on lies -- lies to others, lies to the self -- and does it thereby commit the sin of "bad faith"?);
-- arguing that existentialism doesn't necessitate polyamory and is compatible with monogamy (and the various theist existentialists would no doubt have agreed).
Sweden -- 1954
-- I'd suggest, probably not. Probably people would say, "Horses for courses: individuals are different, and if it works for you, so be it". Probably people would even agree that the general idea is existentially consistent.
To which I'd want to add one more thought.
It seems to me: (i) that a lot of Sartre and de Beauvoir's motivation was to maximize their freedom; and (ii) that the notion of freedom here is unanalysed.
Politically, people often speak not only of negative freedom (absence of contraints) but also positive freedom (options because of restraint). The latter is itself a complex concept, but one example would be road rules. Sure, you're limited by not being able to zigzag, but you're also freer from worrying about maniacs.
Existentialism, generally speaking, seems to confine itself to negative, and to ignore positive, though it's very possible that the constraint of monogamy could yield valuable experiences and options (though not necessarily -- horses for courses -- some swingers might well be able to have their cake and eat it).
And Sarte and de Beauvoir do realize this up to a point. After all, they limited their negative freedom by making the agreement with each other in the first place.
***
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Comment by Damo
Comment by Little Angry Doll
Falling Haiku Leaf
Inner West Life
I'm sure swingers will appreciate my lack of political integrity.
Comment by Adrienne
Comment by Adrienne
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Has to work for both parties though.
Comment by Sisi
P.S. Was so good to see you yesterday Adrian!
Comment by Anonymous