She Had The Right Idea.

[mongers]

Embarrassed to say I'd not heard of her until the news of her death, but to my mind she had some important things to say about modern life.

This place being Languish, I guess some comments will focus on the 'irony' of her death, but the news item/obituary is worth a read:

French philosopher Dufourmantelle drowns rescuing children
24 July 2017

A leading French philosopher who advocated risk-taking has drowned after attempting to save two children at a beach on the French Riviera.

Anne Dufourmantelle entered the water after the children got into difficulty in strong winds at Pampelonne beach, near St Tropez, on Friday.

The two children were later rescued by lifeguards and were unharmed.

The French culture minister, Françoise Nyssen, said Dufourmantelle was a "great philosopher who helped us live".

Witnesses said Dufourmantelle, 53, was bathing 50m (164 ft) from the two children when an orange warning flag at the beach was changed to red, indicating that bathing was prohibited due to dangerous conditions.

She immediately tried to reach them but was carried away in a strong current. Attempts to resuscitate her after she was recovered failed, France 3 reported (in French).

It was unclear if she knew the children involved in the incident.

Her funeral is due to be held in Ramatuelle, southern France, on Tuesday.

Dufourmantelle wrote numerous essays on the importance of taking risks and the need to accept that exposure to any number of possible threats is a part of everyday life, including the book Praise of Risk, published in 2011.

"A great philosopher, a psychoanalyst, she helped us to live and think about the world today," Ms Nyssen wrote on Twitter.

Fellow French philosopher Raphaël Enthoven tweeted that he was "sad to learn of the death" of Dufourmantelle, adding that she "spoke so well of dreams".

In a 2015 interview with French daily Liberation (in French), where Dufourmantelle later worked as a columnist, she said that the idea of ​​"absolute security - like 'zero risk' - is a fantasy".

"When there really is a danger that must be faced in order to survive, as for example during the Blitz in London, there is a strong incentive for action, dedication, and surpassing oneself," she said.

'Life begins with risk'

"It is said: 'to risk one's life', but perhaps one should say 'to risk life', [because] being alive is a risk," Dufourmantelle added.

"Life is metamorphosis," she said, adding: "It begins with this risk."

Dufourmantelle had argued that fear can be - and is - used "as a political weapon for the control of freedoms". She said that any offer to the public of increased protection and security can act to reinforce control and diminish life's freedoms.

...

Full article here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40703606

[DGuller]

I thought the title meant that some children came to rescue her, only for them to be drowned by her. 

[CountDeMoney]

This place being Languish, I guess some comments will focus on the 'irony' of her death,

We're not all overly cynical Continental shits.

[derspiess]

I thought the title meant that some children came to rescue her, only for them to be drowned by her. 

If it makes you feel any worse, I read it the same way

[CountDeMoney]

How do you make a dead kid float?
A glass of root beer and two scoops of dead kid.

[derspiess]

How do you make a dead kid float?
A glass of root beer and two scoops of dead kid.

I'm starting to have flashbacks of 80's Natalie Wood jokes.

[merithyn]

I'd never heard of her, either, but she sounds amazing. I think I'm going to have to read her book...

Thanks, mongers!

[CountDeMoney]

How do you make a dead kid float?
A glass of root beer and two scoops of dead kid.

I'm starting to have flashbacks of 80's Natalie Wood jokes.

BECAUSE IT FLOATS

[Eddie Teach]

I'd never heard of her, either, but she sounds amazing. I think I'm going to have to read her book...

Watch her movies first. She was great.

[mongers]

I'd never heard of her, either, but she sounds amazing. I think I'm going to have to read her book...

Thanks, mongers!

Yes, that's on my list today, find a English translation of one of her works.

[jimmy olsen]

She sounds like she was a great person. RIP