Beauvoir's Marxist, not Existentialist, Ethics

What is it about?

Against the view that ethics is about correct moral principles or correct decision-making, Beauvoir argues that the ethical value of every act is radically uncertain and can change over time. Consequently, ethics is achieved only after-the-fact, through the continual correction of previous actions to ensure that they do in fact promote, and continue to promote, human freedom and flourishing.

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Photo by HLS 44 on Unsplash

Photo by HLS 44 on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Many see Beauvoir's ethics as an attempted synthesis of, or perhaps compromise between, existentialism and Marxism, Kantian ethics and utilitarianism. However, her ethical theory is better understood as a historical-materialist critique of both traditions , a rejection of vulgar varieties of Marxist utilitarianism and a rejection of existentialism's anti-materialist notion of ontological freedom.