The metaphysical novel as educator: Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophy of lived experience

Abstract

This essay analyzes the educational significance of the metaphysical novel, that is, how it can be used to educate ourselves and our students. Mordechai Gordon begins by describing the nature of the metaphysical novel while contrasting it to “pure” philosophy and theory building. Gordon also situates Beauvoir’s insights in the broader context of the ongoing conversation on philosophy and literature. In the next part, he examines Beauvoir’s philosophy of lived experience and compare her philosophical approach to more traditional phenomenological theories. From the analysis of Beauvoir’s philosophy of lived experience, Gordon turns to explore the role that ambiguity, contingency, and complexity play in helping us make sense of people’s lives while drawing on examples from several metaphysical novels to illustrate these notions. He concludes this essay by reflecting on the question: what can the study of metaphysical novels bring to philosophy of education?

Keywords:

• Philosophy
• literature
• metaphysics
• education
• lived experience

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mordechai Gordon

Mordechai Gordon is a Professor of education in the School of Education at Quinnipiac University. His areas of specialization are philosophy of education, philosophy and literature, and democratic education. He is author of Existential Philosophy and the Promise of Education: Learning from Myths and Metaphors and the editor of Hannah Arendt and Education: Renewing our Common World, winner of the 2002 AESA Critics Choice Award. Dr. Gordon has published seven books and dozens of articles in scholarly journals such as Educational Theory, Journal of Teacher Education, Oxford Review of Education and Journal of Aesthetic Education.