Q0453
“The freedom of others… conditions my freedom.” — Simone de Beauvoir (The Ethics of Ambiguity)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Ethics of Ambiguity. Theme: freedom.
English
The freedom of others… conditions my freedom.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Ethics of Ambiguity and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) was a French existentialist philosopher and novelist whose The Second Sex (1949) transformed feminist theory. A Normalienne, she partnered intellectually with Sartre while building an independent oeuvre on ethics, aging, and politics.
How to read this passage
Philosophers distinguish several ideas under the single word freedom. Negative freedom emphasizes non-interference; positive freedom emphasizes the capacity to act according to reasons, virtue, or authentic desire. This passage enters that discussion through freedom, otherness, ethics.
Concepts in this quote
- Freedom
- Freedom is among the most searched and most contested themes in philosophy: what it is to choose, to be responsible, and to live without illegitimate constraint.
- Otherness
- Otherness appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat otherness as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Ethics
- Ethics appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat ethics as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Simone de Beauvoir. (n.d.). The freedom of others… conditions my freedom. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0453
MLA: Simone de Beauvoir. “The freedom of others… conditions my freedom..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0453.
Chicago: Simone de Beauvoir. “The freedom of others… conditions my freedom..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0453.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The freedom of others… conditions my freedom.”?
The passage is attributed to Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity. The archive attributes this English wording to The Ethics of Ambiguity and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Simone de Beauvoir mean by freedom?
Philosophers distinguish several ideas under the single word freedom. Negative freedom emphasizes non-interference; positive freedom emphasizes the capacity to act according to reasons, virtue, or authentic desire. This passage enters that discussion through freedom, otherness, ethics.