How to be Authentic, by Skye Cleary

The International Simone de Beauvoir Society is happy to present the 4th session of the Beauvoir Webinar Series 2022! 

We are welcoming Skye C. Cleary who will present her new book: 

* How to Be Authentic. Simone de Beauvoir and The Quest for Fulfillment * 
The author will be in conversation with philosopher Manon Garcia. 

About the participants: 

Skye C. Cleary is a philosopher and author of How to Be Authentic. Simone de Beauvoir and The Quest for Fulfillment and Existentialism and Romantic Love and co-editor of How to Live a Good Life. Cleary’s writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Aeon, The Times Literary Supplement, TED-Ed, and Los Angeles Review of Books, among other outlets. She won the 2017 New Philosopher Writers’ Award and was a 2021 MacDowell Fellow. She teaches at Columbia University, Barnard College, and the City University of New York. Skye is a member of The International Simone de Beauvoir Society. 

Manon Garcia is a philosopher and junior professor of practical philosophy at Freie Universität in Berlin. She is the author of We Are Not Born Submissive: How Patriarchy Shapes Women's Lives (first published in French as On ne naît pas soumise, on le devient by Flammarion in 2018) and of La Conversation des sexes: Philosophie du consentement (The Conversation of the Sexes: Philosophy of Consent) that was published in French by Flammarion in 2021, and will soon be published in English. 

About the book (from editor St. Martin's Press): 

"In an age of self-exposure, what does it mean to be authentic?

“Authenticity” has become attenuated to the point of meaninglessness; everyone says to be yourself, but what that means is anyone’s guess. For existential philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, authenticity is not the revelation of a true self, but an exhilarating quest towards fulfillment. Her view, central to existentialism, is that we exist first and then spend the rest of our lives creating―not discovering―who we are. To be authentic is to live in pursuit of self-creation and self-renewal, with many different paths towards diverse goals.

How to Be Authentic is a lively introduction to Simone de Beauvoir's philosophy of existentialism, as well as an exploration of the successes and failures that Beauvoir and other women have experienced in striving towards authenticity. Skye C. Cleary takes us through some of life’s major relationships and milestones: friendship; romantic love; marriage; children; and death, and examines how each offers an opportunity for us to stretch toward authenticity. While many people don’t get to choose their path in life―whether because of systemic oppression or the actions of other individuals―Cleary makes a compelling case that Beauvoir’s ideas can help us become more conscious of living purposefully, thoughtfully, and with vitality, and she shows us how to do so in responsible ways that invigorate every person’s right to become poets of their own lives."