Il cigno nero. Kant, Beauvoir e l’amicizia come rapporto di libertà, uguaglianza e reciprocità

Since the 1980s, a growing number of feminist schol-­ ars have undertaken a critical reassessment of Kantian philosophy, challenging its gen-­ der hierarchies and abstract model of reason, while also reclaiming key concepts such as autonomy and freedom. This essay contributes to this ongoing debate by examining the relationship between Simone de Beauvoir and Kant, an intellectual connection that has received relatively little attention despite the significant influence of Kantian phi-­ losophy on Beauvoir’s early intellectual education. The author argues that Kant’s moral philosophy is an importance reference in Beauvoir’s conception of friendship – developed most notably in The Second Sex, but also across her literary works and epis-­ tolary writings. By tracing both continuities and divergences between the two thinkers, the essay shows how Beauvoir critically reinterprets Kantian ideas of freedom, equali-­ ty, and reciprocity through the lens of an embodied and situated subjectivity, ultimate-­ ly presenting friendship as a paradigm of emancipatory moral relations.

Parole chiave:Keywords: Immanuel Kant;; Simone de Beauvoir;; Friendship;; Reciprocity;; Freedom;;Equality.

Matilde Ciolli, Il cigno nero. Kant, Beauvoir e l’amicizia come rapporto di libertà, uguaglianza e reciprocità in "RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA" 4/2025, pp 675-690, DOI: 10.3280/SF2025-004009