Both Beauvoir and Sartre derived their philosophical theories from lived love affairs

Evidence

It is interesting to discover that Sartre’s notion of generosity was also the result of a deep love affair, with Dolores Vanetti (the mysterious “M” in Beauvoir’s memoirs), which he was experiencing at the time he was writing his Notebooks. Th is is not surprising, for we are dealing here with two existentialists; and the gist of existentialism is that it is about expériences vécues, not abstract notions. Th e experiences are then transformed into their theories by the authors. — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 141

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the existentialist commitment that philosophy arises from expériences vécues rather than abstract reflection.
• XREF: Connects to the Second Sex authorship/deep-love thesis from earlier in this book and to wider Continental claims that philosophy is authored from biography. — connects to: Sartre and Beauvoir deliberately lived their philosophy of freedom in their relationship — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 50; Beauvoir’s positive passages on reciprocal love stem from her Algren liaison. — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of…, 136; Beauvoir and Sartre shared intellectual property through mutual biographical borrowing — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of…, 517 (+1 more)