Mulheres e Filosofia
Será a Filosofia um club exclusivamente masculino?
Haverá um pensamento filosófico feminino?
Que temas abordam reflexivamente na Filosofia?
10 Women
of Philosophy, and Why You Should Know Them
While a great
idea can come from anybody anywhere, sometimes a different perspective is
needed for progress to be made. In that mindset, today we have ten of the greatest female philosophers of
all time.
1. Simone de
Beauvoir (1908-1986)
As a French
existentialist, Marxist, and founding mother of second-wave feminism, there are
few philosophers would can hold a candle to Beauvoir, though she never thought
of herself as being one. She wrote dozens of books, including The
Second Sex and The
Ethics of Ambiguity, and is noted for having a very accessible writing style. Her work is
often focused on the pragmatic matters of existentialism, as opposed to that of
her life partner, Jean-Paul Sartre. She was very active in French politics, as
a social critic, protester, and member of the French resistance.
"The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals
are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength, each asking from
the other instead of finding pleasure in giving."
2. Hypatia of
Alexandria (Born c. 350–370, died 415 AD)
A Greek philosopher and scientist, she was regarded by many of her
contemporaries as the greatest philosopher of the age. Her fame was such that
prospective students traveled great distances to hear her speak. While it
remains uncertain as to the scope of her writings, a common problem for ancient
authors, it is agreed that she at least co-wrote several surviving works with
her father, including extensive commentaries on Greek science and philosophy.
She was killed by a Christian mob as part of larger riots in the city, though
there is some evidence to suggest that she was assassinated over controversial
astronomical work.
“There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher
Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass
all the philosophers of her own time.” – from Socrates of
Constantinople
3. Hannah Arendt
(1906-1975)
Another great philosopher who didn’t consider herself one. The German born
Arendt, who escaped Vichy France for New York, wrote extensively on
totalitarianism during her life. Her magnum opus, The Origins of
Totalitarianism, analyzes and explains how such governments come
to power. Likewise, her book Eichmann
in Jerusalem, considers how the most average of men can be made evil in the right
conditions. She also wrote on other political subjects, such as the American
and French revolutions, and offered a critique of the idea of human rights.
“Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think.”
4. Philippa Foot
(1920-2010)
An English philosopher working out of Oxford and UCLA, she is often
credited with sparking a revival in Aristotelian thought. Her work in ethics is
extensive and well known: she wrote the trolley problem. Over her lifetime she worked
with many philosophers (including our next entry), and heavily influenced many
living philosophers. A collection of her essays, Virtues and Vices,
is a key document for the recently revitalized interest in virtue ethics.
“You ask a philosopher a question and after he or she has talked for a bit,
you don’t understand your question anymore.”
5. G.E.M Anscombe (1919-2001)
A British philosopher working out of Oxford who wrote about everything she
could lay her hands on, including logic, ethics, meta-ethics, the mind,
language, and war crimes. Her greatest work was Intention, a
series of papers showing how what we intend to happen has a great effect on our
ethical standing. Her groundbreaking work Modern Moral Philosophy, has influenced modern ethical work extensively; it
was here that she invented the word consequentialism. She also
debated many famous thinkers, including Phillipa Foot. She was also a notable
firebrand, protesting both Harry
Truman and local abortion clinics.
“Those who try
to make room for sex as mere casual enjoyment pay the penalty: they become
shallow.”
6. Mary
Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
An English
philosopher and popular writer, she was the author of A Vindication of the Rights of
Men, a defense of the French Revolution against Burke; and A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman, an answer to those who argued against the education
of women. She was, in some ways, the first
feminist philosopher. She also wrote several novels, travel guides and a
children’s book. She died from complications of childbirth at age 38. That
birth gave us her daughter, who was also a noted writer: Mary Shelly, author of
Frankenstein.
“Virtue can only flourish amongst equals.”
7. Anne
Dufourmantelle (1964-2017)
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Image: Librairie Mollat |
A French philosopher and psychoanalyst, her philosophy was based on risk
taking. Particularly, the notion that to truly experience life we must take
risks, often considerable ones. She discussed the notion of “security” which
frowns on risk while also leaving a void in our existence. She was the author
of 30 books, has
many interesting lectures, and died
as she lived.
“When there is really a danger to be faced, there is a very strong
incentive to devotion, to surpassing oneself.”
8. Harriet Taylor
Mill (1807-1858)
Wife of John Stuart Mill, Harriet Mill was a philosopher in her own right.
Despite publishing few works during her lifetime, her influence on her
husband’s work is undeniable. Her essay The
Enfranchisement of Women is a precursor to Mill’s later work The Subjection of
Women and makes many of the same points. John Stuart Mill’s
masterpiece On Liberty is dedicated to her, and by his
admission partly written by her.
“All my published writings were as much my wife's work as mine; her share
in them constantly increasing as years advanced.” — J.S. Mill
9. Kathryn
Gines (Born 1978)
A Philosopher working out of Pennsylvania State University, Gines has
written a book on Hannah Arendt’s philosophy. A continental philosopher, she
has written extensively on Africana philosophy, black feminism, and
phenomenology. A collection of her work can be found here.
10. Carol Gilligan (Born 1936)
The founder of the school of care ethics, Gilligan’s work In a
Different Voice has been called “The little book that started a
revolution.” Her
workquestions the value of universal
standards of morality, such as fairness or duty, seeing them as impersonal and
distant from our problems. She instead proposes that we consider relationships
and our interdependence in moral actions.
"I've found that if I say what I'm really thinking and feeling, people
are more likely to say what they really think and feel. The conversation
becomes a real conversation."
September 2, 2017
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