Premise Course: Do we have the ability to make ourselves free? de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity & Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

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In her book The Ethics of Ambiguity, the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir asks us to consider what it means to exercise individual freedom and to live in community with others. Where does our individual freedom begin and end?

Simone de Beauvoir wrote The Ethics of Ambiguity in 1947, in the wake of Nazi atrocities and totalitarianism. She questions and seeks to define personal ethics and freedom and claims that such freedom can be manifest only when we “will others free.” How do we create a life where we protect our individual freedom and work toward the freedom of our neighbor? Can both forms of freedom truly exist?

At first glance, Franz Kafka may seem an odd pairing with Simone de Beauvoir, but with a step inside Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, it’s clear that we are entering the mind of a character who seeks the type of personal freedom de Beauvoir claims exists. Gregor Samsa, the main character in The Metamorphosis, finds that he’s become unrecognizable to his family. Through this change in his appearance, Gregor sees his family as they are, and he gains a perspective on personal freedom that could only be achieved by “getting outside of himself.”

As we read both The Ethics of Ambiguity and The Metamorphosis in their entirety, we will explore questions about freedom in our own lives: Can we be as free as we are meant to be despite the gaze and expectations of those around us? Can we be free as individuals even if we have jobs that bind us to institutions and norms that may run counter to our freedom? Can we live freely if those around us suffer?

Learn more about The Ethics of Ambiguity and Metamorphosis on the Premise Goodreads page.

Instructor: Mary Finn

Tuesdays, October 19-November 9

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