Unveiling Existential Ambiguity. The Role of Recognition in Simone de Beauvoir’s Philosophy

Simone de Beauvoir’s engagement with the master-slave dialectic has long been central to analyzes of The Second Sex. However, incorporating her lesser-known work, Pyrrhus and Cineas, offers a richer and more nuanced understanding of her use of the Hegelian concept of recognition. In Pyrrhus and Cineas, Beauvoir explores the practical question of why one should act, grounding it in the need for recognition by singular others. By subtly replacing the “individual” moment in the Hegelian dialectic with an emphasis on a Kierkegaardian “singularity”, Beauvoir plays Hegel against himself to establish an individualist yet emancipatory social theory.