Simone de Beauvoir: “Pyrrhus and Cineas” book discussion

“…Pyrrhus was devising projects of conquest. ‘We are going to subjugate Greece first’ he said. ‘And after that?’ said Cineas.
‘We will vanquish Africa.’
-‘And after that?’
‘We will go as far as India’
-‘After India?’
‘Ah’ said Pyrrhus, ‘I will rest.’
-Why not rest right away?’ said Cineas”

This 1944 essay from Simone de Beauvoir squarely confronts this line of questioning adopted by Cineas.
In the face of objective cosmic indifference, irrational futility, the absurdity of it all- how do we orient ourselves and make sense of any action?
How do we practically balance our simultaneous drives of possessing and desiring?

Exploring themes of existentialism, ontology, and the insatiable appetite of man, this brief essay provides us insightful commentary on the human condition that serves us both instruction & warning.

I will be reading the essay from the Penguin Books Great Ideas ‘What is Existentialism’ copy (sorry I couldn’t locate a free pdf)

https://books.google.com/books/about/What_Is_Existentialism.html?id=0vjmDwAAQBAJ

Pages 9-117 (shorter than it seems, small pages & large font)

Conversation is structured around mutual exploration of the text & its principles, so reading is required to participate.

Hope to see you there.