The ethics of ambiguity

What Hacker News says

1. PheonixPhartsMay 2022
   Maybe the problem is you're trying to "feel good" rather than confront feeling bad.

   My recommendation is Simone de Beauvoir's Ethics of Ambiguity. It details various strategies people have for confronting their own existential terror, and ultimately works to develop an ethical system for a world without meaning.

   I've found it very insightful for helping to recognize your own behaviors that are effectively ways of denying the true existential questions that are haunting you throughout your life.

   Show morethread
2. jtr1May 2020
   "The Ethics of Ambiguity" by Simone de Beauvoir helped pull me out of a pretty debilitating bout of nihilism.
   thread
3. thravJan 2020
   I would agree that I haven’t found Pirsig’s work to be the most life changing. It’s much more life affirming, and ‘hey, that’s what I’ve been thinking, but not quite putting my finger on!’

   The same could be said for my recent dive into David Foster Wallace. Absolutely loving reading his writing, but more affirmation of my own thoughts than expansion. I also realize this is probably because I’m reading both decades after publication, which means time has caught up to their ahead of the curve ideas.

   The most I’ve gotten out of a book, in terms of altering the way I think about the world and life, is Simone De Beauvoir and the Ethics of Ambiguity. Man, I love me some Simone.

   Show morethread
4. beatDec 2018
   Recommendations from my reading this year:

   Factfulness, by Hans Rosling. #1 with a bullet! This is the best, most useful book I've read in many years, and totally changed how I think about my thinking, and how other people (especially smart people) think. This is a must-read for anyone who thinks they're engaged and well-informed.

   The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty. This was recommended to me by a very smart friend as the best book she read in 2017. It's behind only Factfulness for me. Ostensibly a history of African-American cooking in the South, it's a sprawling yet deeply personal work of history, genealogy, multiculturalism, and of course food. A masterpiece, full of knowledge, wisdom, and heart.

   Prisoners of Geography, by Tim Marshall. An overview of political geography, and how the physical structure of land and water affects the cultures living there, their opportunities, and their place in the world. It caused a total rethink about why Europe and the US have been so successful, and why Africa and South America have suffered. A worthy companion to the classic Guns, Germs, and Steel.

   Let's Go (So We Can Get Back), by Jeff Tweedy. An autobiography by the Wilco frontman, talking about a lot of stuff I find intensely interesting - depression, being a bandleader, and being a parent and husband.

   Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor. An outstanding science fiction novella from an entirely different perspective - an African future.

   The Ethics of Ambiguity, by Simone de Beauvoir. A mid-century philosophy classic, tackling ethics from an existentialist perspective. Dense and difficult, but also highly entertaining and brilliant. Highly recommended if you read philosophy regularly (if you don't, start with something a little lighter!).

   Show morethread
5. beatAug 2018
   Recommended reading list thread!

   What have you read this year that you think others should read as well? Here's a few of mine that really stand out.

   Factfulness, by Hans Rosling

   The Ethics of Ambiguity, by Simone de Beauvoir

   Designing Delivery, by Jeff Sussna (re-read)

   The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty

   Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor

   The Philosophy of Spinoza

   The Silk Roads, by Peter Frankopan

   Show morethread
6. edna_piranhaJul 2010
   If you're interested in phenomenology and/or existentialism and works that are somewhat readable (this is subjective of course), I'd suggest:

   1. Maurice Merleau-Ponty - The Phenomenology of Perception

   2. Simone de Beauvoir - Ethics of Ambiguity

   3. Friedrich Nietzsche - Will to Power

   I'd highly recommend NOT reading Being and Time by Heidegger - you'll want to stab your eyes out ten times.

   Outside of pure philosophical texts and more emphasis on fictional works related to philosophy, I'd suggest indirect material that encourage ideas of subjective perception and point-of-view. Examples are works by Franz Kafka, Ryu Murakami and William S. Burroughs.

   Show morethread