C’est Si Bon. Week 49: Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, and René Girard

Week 49 of Ted Gioia’s Immersive Humanities list brings three modern French thinkers into conversation: Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, and René Girard. Unlike many earlier weeks in this project, these readings aren’t novels or unified texts—they’re philosophical excerpts that stand largely on their own. So rather than forcing a single theme, I consider how each of these writers might still be shaping the world we live in today.

Beauvoir’s The Second Sex asks why “man” is treated as the default while woman becomes the “other,” raising questions that still echo in modern debates about biology, identity, and women’s health. It even makes an appearance with an interaction I had with ChatGPT!

Foucault’s “Eye of Power” examines surveillance and the famous “Panopticon,” showing how systems of observation quietly shape behavior. This is an idea that feels spookily prescient in our world of cameras, cookies, and algorithms.

Finally, René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire and scapegoating offers a striking explanation for why humans compete, blame, and sometimes unite against a chosen victim. Spoiler: I really love Girard.

LINK

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