It is a little known fact that women have been quite involved in the field of philosophy from the very beginning. If you ask any random person to name five female philosophers, they would have a hard time. Since ancient times up until now, women have not been properly represented. Only a handful of female philosophers were recognized or accepted during the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary eras, especially during the 20th and 21st centuries. Let’s get a short overview of each of these eras.
Ancient philosophy in the West refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture. The word philosophy originated from the Greek word philosophia, which means “the love of wisdom.” Ancient philosophy encompassed all intellectual endeavors, including problems of philosophy as understood today but also mathematics and natural sciences. Although academic philosophy (during the ancient era in the West) was primarily the playing grounds for many male philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and so on, there were some female philosophers that were active during this era. Some notable women are Hipparchia of Maroneia, Arete of Cyrene, and Aspasia of Miletus.
Medieval philosophy was developed in the medieval era or the Middle Ages, which was a period that spanned from the fall of the Roman Empire up to the Renaissance. Medieval philosophy began in Baghdad and France. It is basically defined as the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture during the classical period and also served as a way to address theological problems and to combine sacred doctrine with non-religious teaching/learning. Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Hypatia, St. Hildegard of Bingen, and St. Catherine of Sienna.
Modern philosophy was developed in the modern era and is associated with modernity. There is still a dispute of when exactly modern Western philosophy began, whether in the Early Renaissance or the later High Renaissance. Modern philosophy figures were divided into two main groups, the Rationalists and the Empiricists. As defined in the dictionary, rationalism is “the theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.” Empiricism, on the other hand, is “the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.” Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Mary Wollstonecraft and Sarah Margaret Fuller.
Contemporary philosophy is the era we are currently in. It was developed at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of philosophy and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy, with Germany being the first country to professionalize the discipline. Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Susanne Langer, Hannah Arendt, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Women have been in the philosophy game since ancient times but they don’t get much recognition. There are more than five female philosophers out there and it’s time that we get to know more about them, especially if we’re in a philosophy class. You only ever hear about male philosophers and their contributions, but what about all of those female philosophers listed above?
Ancient philosophy in the West refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture. The word philosophy originated from the Greek word philosophia, which means “the love of wisdom.” Ancient philosophy encompassed all intellectual endeavors, including problems of philosophy as understood today but also mathematics and natural sciences. Although academic philosophy (during the ancient era in the West) was primarily the playing grounds for many male philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and so on, there were some female philosophers that were active during this era. Some notable women are Hipparchia of Maroneia, Arete of Cyrene, and Aspasia of Miletus.
Medieval philosophy was developed in the medieval era or the Middle Ages, which was a period that spanned from the fall of the Roman Empire up to the Renaissance. Medieval philosophy began in Baghdad and France. It is basically defined as the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture during the classical period and also served as a way to address theological problems and to combine sacred doctrine with non-religious teaching/learning. Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Hypatia, St. Hildegard of Bingen, and St. Catherine of Sienna.
Modern philosophy was developed in the modern era and is associated with modernity. There is still a dispute of when exactly modern Western philosophy began, whether in the Early Renaissance or the later High Renaissance. Modern philosophy figures were divided into two main groups, the Rationalists and the Empiricists. As defined in the dictionary, rationalism is “the theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.” Empiricism, on the other hand, is “the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.” Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Mary Wollstonecraft and Sarah Margaret Fuller.
Contemporary philosophy is the era we are currently in. It was developed at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of philosophy and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy, with Germany being the first country to professionalize the discipline. Some of the notable female philosophers during this era include Susanne Langer, Hannah Arendt, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Women have been in the philosophy game since ancient times but they don’t get much recognition. There are more than five female philosophers out there and it’s time that we get to know more about them, especially if we’re in a philosophy class. You only ever hear about male philosophers and their contributions, but what about all of those female philosophers listed above?
Professional academic philosophy has as gender-exclusive a history as every other professional domain, but it's changing. Two of the last three hires in our department were women. They're coming! And they're getting more positive attention. Look for recent feature-length profiles of Martha Nussbaum, for instance, in places like The New Yorker and Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteAnd, you mentioned Margaret Fuller. She has been getting a lot more retrospective attention lately, and there are other 19th century heroines awaiting their star-turns.