Der Busche Flashcards
First Point: Woman is the Other to Man. (P: De Beauvoir argues that…)
De Beauvoir argues that women are the Other to men’s Subject. ‘Woman’ is defined negatively and determined relative to ‘man.’ All determinations are assigned to ‘woman’ as a lack or as limitations (i.e. ‘Women are weak’). Woman discovers herself in a world where men force her to assume herself as Other.
First Point: Woman is the Other to Man. (E: A concrete example from the text. Briefly explain it.)
De Beauvoir asks what a ‘woman’ is, rules out possibilities, and concludes that ‘woman’ is defined negatively relative to ‘man.’ She discounts ‘uterus’, ‘femininity’, or a meaningless term.
First Point: Woman is the Other to Man. (E: Break down the premises and conclusions de Beauvoir goes through to make this point.)
‘Woman’ is determined and differentiated in relation to ‘man’ (i.e. ‘women are not as strong as men’), but the same is not true in reverse. Woman discovers and chooses herself in a world where men force her to assume herself as Other. She concedes that if woman’s status as Other is predetermined, then we cannot change it.
Second Point: Biology does not predetermine woman’s Otherness. (P: De Beauvoir contends that…)
De Beauvoir argues that biology does not predetermine woman’s status as Other. Species perpetuation does not entail sexual differentiation, and even though homo sapien reproduction currently entails sexual differentiation, this is a contingent truth of evolution.
Second Point: Biology does not predetermine woman’s Otherness. (E: A concrete example from the text. Briefly explain it.)
Evolution involves constant adaptation. All living organisms and their component parts are constantly changing into something else. It is impossible to talk about living things like “homo sapien female” as finished products.
Second Point: Biology does not predetermine woman’s Otherness. (E: Break down the premises and conclusions de Beauvoir goes through to make this point.)
We do not know the full capacity of unfinished products, and “homo sapien woman” is an unfinished product, so we do not know the full capacity of woman. Social customs are not reducible to biological data. Societal customs are not the same as biological functions, and societal customs can override/overcome biological functions. Human consciousness is shaped by biological functions as experienced through societal customs.
Third point: Woman’s status as Other is not predetermined, but contingent, indefinite and ambiguous. (P: De Beauvoir claims that…)
De Beauvoir argues that woman’s status as Other is not predetermined by biology, but is contingent, indefinite and ambiguous. The acts of consciousness we perform (the experiences we have) are contingent on various relevant preceding conditions.
Third point: Woman’s status as Other is not predetermined, but contingent, indefinite and ambiguous. (E: A concrete example from the text. Briefly explain it.)
The young girl-child discovers that her mother, who previously seemed to be ‘in charge’, is revealed to be quite secondary in power to the father.
Third point: Woman’s status as Other is not predetermined, but contingent, indefinite and ambiguous. (E: Break down the premises and conclusions de Beauvoir goes through to make this point.)
These experiences open up certain horizons of possible future acts/experiences. The girl-child’s future possibilities are not totally determined by this humbling experience, but it opens up certain horizons of possible actions (for example, to what extent she can overcome her shock and resentment at the fact that “she was intended one day to become a woman like her all-powerful mother; [but] she will never be the sovereign father”).
Evaluation Intro:
While aspects of De Beauvoir’s argument are ???, others seem ???.
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that XYZ. (Evidence)
She argues that…
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that XYZ. (Reason)
Her line of reasoning consists of true premises, and is mostly free from contradictions.
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that XYZ. (In more detail)
For example, de Beauvoir…
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that XYZ. (Admit weaknesses)
One possible criticism of de Beauvoir’s argument is that….
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that XYZ. (Link)
Despite this, de Beauvoir’s argument is on the whole persuasive….
Evaluation: De Beauvoir’s account of woman as Other requires some evaluation.
After ruling out candidates such as ‘uterus’ and ‘feminity’, de Beauvoir identifies ‘determinations as limitations’ and ‘being non-reciprocally determined and differentiated in relation to men’ as the sufficient conditions of womanhood. But these could also apply to the slave or the colonised (both ‘unfree’ and ‘non reciprocally determined and differentiated in relation to men’).
Evaluation: But it is clear that not all slaves and colonised peoples are ‘women.’ It might be that de Beauvoir is slightly stuck in the paradox of analysis here.
A conceptual analysis must be both correct and informative, but if it is too correct it becomes tautological (‘woman is woman’) and if it is too informative it becomes unhelpful (‘woman is what a lot of other things are too.’).
Evaluation: But in fact De Beauvoir goes on to address the differences between women and other Others…
…such as the empirically verifiable history of the oppression of colonised people, the concrete rebellions of proletarians and slaves, and the unique necessity of men to women. This raises the possibility, however, that if historians were able to offer a chronology of women’s subjugation, or women were to stage a successful revolution, de Beauvoir’s initial premises about women’s unique Otherness would be brought into question.
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir’s argument that XYZ is quite weak. (Evidence)
She argues that….
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir’s argument that XYZ is quite weak. (Reason)
There are some contradictions in this line of reasoning.
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir’s argument that XYZ is quite weak. (In more detail)
Firstly, de Beauvoir…
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir’s argument that XYZ is quite weak. (Admit strengths)
De Beauvoir partly addresses this criticism by…
Evaluation Argument: De Beauvoir’s argument that XYZ is quite weak. (Link)
On balance, however, the argument contains some inconsistencies….
Evaluation: De Beauvoir makes a cogent argument that biology does not predetermine woman’s status as Other.
Her argument that sexual differentiation is a contingent rather than a necessary evolutionary reality fits with current, empirically verifiable scientific hypotheses. One might even go further than de Beauvoir and point out that scientifically categorising and elucidating the numerous mechanisms by which DNA is combined to create new organisms can be accomplished without assigning every individual to a specific sex.
