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Another word for Beauvoir's "swindle" is simply "dis-illusionment", isn't it? Life as we experience it is based on "stories" we read and hear and expect that a

Another word for Beauvoir's "swindle" is simply "dis-illusionment", isn't it? Life as we experience it is based on "stories" we read and hear and expect that at some point we would live like in a story and thus feel some deep significance to our life. But it never is like that. For some the story might be Beauvoir and she is honest enough to tell us that. Nothing special here. My (her) situation is like yours. But isn't that really the great unifier? We are all special, or none of us is. The ending of a book makes the book timeless. The story is over but the story still exists and perhaps we long for that kind of existence? But reality is reality? No, the limits of our language are the limits of the world. (Wittgenstein I think).

galaxyLogic 7y ago
I'm not sure I understand the difference between "being" and "existence"
- stabbles 7y ago
  I'm not entirely sure either, but maybe it's meant to be interpreted in light of the 'existence precedes essence' concept of existentialism. 'Being' might then mean leading a life where one choses their destiny, in contrast to mere 'existence'. Maybe the translation from French is not perfect? "The paradox of human life is precisely that one tries to be and, in the long run, merely exists." I think what she means is: if you have your life ahead of you, you can still choose your destiny (you can be something). However, having lived that life and looking back at it, history is fixed and there is nothing to choose when it comes to the past (it merely exists).
  - barryhoodlum 7y ago
    From the article: "A woman psychoanalyst wrote me a very intelligent letter in which she said that “in the last analysis, desires always go far beyond the object of desire.” The fact is that I’ve had everything I desired, but the “far beyond” which is included in the desire itself is not attained when the desire has been fulfilled." I took "being" to include being somehow immersed in the "far beyond" once the desired lifestyle is met. Like realising you're in a dream without eventually waking up.
beautifulfreak 7y ago
That passage made me think of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. The author can have anything his heart desires, but in the end finds it empty ("vanity"). It's an old problem. The French Existentialists didn't invent it.
toddh 7y ago
I think it's the hedonic treadmill. We always adapt so even peaks become the new normal, this life is always just about normal.

galaxyLogic 7y ago

I'm not sure I understand the difference between "being" and "existence"

stabbles 7y ago
I'm not entirely sure either, but maybe it's meant to be interpreted in light of the 'existence precedes essence' concept of existentialism. 'Being' might then mean leading a life where one choses their destiny, in contrast to mere 'existence'. Maybe the translation from French is not perfect? "The paradox of human life is precisely that one tries to be and, in the long run, merely exists." I think what she means is: if you have your life ahead of you, you can still choose your destiny (you can be something). However, having lived that life and looking back at it, history is fixed and there is nothing to choose when it comes to the past (it merely exists).
- barryhoodlum 7y ago
  From the article: "A woman psychoanalyst wrote me a very intelligent letter in which she said that “in the last analysis, desires always go far beyond the object of desire.” The fact is that I’ve had everything I desired, but the “far beyond” which is included in the desire itself is not attained when the desire has been fulfilled." I took "being" to include being somehow immersed in the "far beyond" once the desired lifestyle is met. Like realising you're in a dream without eventually waking up.

beautifulfreak 7y ago

That passage made me think of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. The author can have anything his heart desires, but in the end finds it empty ("vanity"). It's an old problem. The French Existentialists didn't invent it.

toddh 7y ago

I think it's the hedonic treadmill. We always adapt so even peaks become the new normal, this life is always just about normal.