Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Use this philosophy forum to discuss and debate general philosophy topics that don't fit into one of the other categories.

This forum is NOT for factual, informational or scientific questions about philosophy (e.g. "What year was Socrates born?"). Those kind of questions can be asked in the off-topic section.
XavierAlex
Posts: 307
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 10:56 am

Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by XavierAlex »

Sartre's partner Simone de Beauvoir was a feminist and philosopher. But when I go through my memory banks, it seems that very few women are in the canon of philosophers. As Jack Nicholson said in one movie, when asked how he wrote about women so well (He wrote Romance novels): "I imagine men and take away reason and accountability". Is Jack Nicholson right? And women cannot be philosophers? I understand this may be very misogynist sounding, but in the inherent differences between men and women, what are some famous women who tackle the big philosophical questions, and do so with as much rigor as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and so on?

And I understand there are women on this forum. And if you are, do you consider yourself a philosopher?

And lastly, I'm not speaking of women authors and poets. I mean bullet-point proofs, such as those by Wittgenstein.
User avatar
Theophane
Posts: 2349
Joined: May 25th, 2013, 9:03 am
Favorite Philosopher: C.S. Lewis
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Theophane »

Sartre's partner Simone de Beauvoir was a feminist and philosopher. But when I go through my memory banks, it seems that very few women are in the canon of philosophers.
Maybe that's because philosophy is androcentric (old boys' club). There aren't many women in the canon of science, either.
Granth
Posts: 2084
Joined: July 20th, 2012, 11:56 pm

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Granth »

Perhaps philosophy is predominately male neuroses.
User avatar
Theophane
Posts: 2349
Joined: May 25th, 2013, 9:03 am
Favorite Philosopher: C.S. Lewis
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Theophane »

What about Ayn Rand?
Spectrum
Posts: 5161
Joined: December 21st, 2010, 1:25 am
Favorite Philosopher: Eclectic -Various

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Spectrum »

Theophane wrote:What about Ayn Rand?
'What' is that?
Rand was bulls....
---------------------------------------------------------------

In the past, males has been dominating most of noticeable human activities while women had remained in the background. Naturally we do not expect to hear of many women philosophers then.

Currently more and more women are coming into the forefront of human endeavors including philosophy.
Check out w:ki's
h t t p://en.wik:pedia.org/w:ki/Category:Women_philosophers

The female sex has evolved with different mental focus (more holistic) from the males and they will contribute to widen the perspectives of existing philosophical views.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
User avatar
Theophane
Posts: 2349
Joined: May 25th, 2013, 9:03 am
Favorite Philosopher: C.S. Lewis
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Theophane »

Ayn Rand was the creator of Objectivist philosophy. She qualifies as a female philosopher.

(I agree with your assessment of Ayn Rand, btw.)
Pastabake
Posts: 1076
Joined: October 18th, 2012, 5:30 am

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Pastabake »

When you consider the whole canon there aren't many philosophers full stop and while there seems to be many at the present day chalk face it'll be luck if even one of them is remembered in 100 years time let alone 3000.
User avatar
Theophane
Posts: 2349
Joined: May 25th, 2013, 9:03 am
Favorite Philosopher: C.S. Lewis
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Theophane »

Chalk face?
Pastabake
Posts: 1076
Joined: October 18th, 2012, 5:30 am

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Pastabake »

Whiteboard, podium etc just don't sound as good.
User avatar
Larry
New Trial Member
Posts: 3
Joined: January 11th, 2014, 4:22 pm

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Larry »

That the small number of women philosophers of the past recognized as being of the first rank has nothing to do with philosophical acumen or temperament is suggested by the accomplishments of women in contemporary philosophy. One example from history of a woman who may well have been the equal of a Hume or Kant is Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia (unfortunately a deposed princess). She did receive some recognition. Descartes dedicated his Principles of Philosophy to her. In correspondence, Elisabeth pushed Descartes on the question how an immaterial substance, the soul, could causally interact with a material substance, the body. This question went to the heart of Cartesian dualism, and, try as he might, Descartes was never able to give a satisfactory answer. It appears from her correspondence with Descartes that Elizabeth’s own position was physicalist. Perhaps it was part of a systematically worked out philosophy. We will never know for sure because no one thought it worthwhile to preserve her writings – except those letters to Descartes. For a striking example of the contribution of contemporary women philosophers, consider the trolley problem, one of the most celebrated philosophical puzzles of all time. The trolley problem is practically owned by women philosophers. First posed by Philippa Foot, it rose to prominence as result of the article by Judith Jarvis Thomson, and has received its most detailed analysis by Frances Kamm.
User avatar
Misty
Premium Member
Posts: 5934
Joined: August 10th, 2011, 8:13 pm
Location: United States of America

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Misty »

XavierAlex wrote:Sartre's partner Simone de Beauvoir was a feminist and philosopher. But when I go through my memory banks, it seems that very few women are in the canon of philosophers. As Jack Nicholson said in one movie, when asked how he wrote about women so well (He wrote Romance novels): "I imagine men and take away reason and accountability". Is Jack Nicholson right? And women cannot be philosophers? I understand this may be very misogynist sounding, but in the inherent differences between men and women, what are some famous women who tackle the big philosophical questions, and do so with as much rigor as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and so on?

And I understand there are women on this forum. And if you are, do you consider yourself a philosopher?

And lastly, I'm not speaking of women authors and poets. I mean bullet-point proofs, such as those by Wittgenstein.
One of my favorite women philosophers is Karen Armstrong. And all mothers IMHO are philosophers.
Things are not always as they appear; it's a matter of perception.

The eyes can only see what the mind has, is, or will be prepared to comprehend.

I am Lion, hear me ROAR! Meow.
User avatar
Sy Borg
Site Admin
Posts: 14992
Joined: December 16th, 2013, 9:05 pm

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Sy Borg »

I'm not a philosopher but I'm not even sure what that is. It seems like an uneven mix of science, intuition, experience and woo woo. Like many, I'm just interested in overviews of life and the universe, but lack the intelligence, aptitude and inclination to go into too much detail.

I've read that philosophy is increasingly being rendered irrelevant by science as the latter continues to definitely answer questions once debated by philosophers. Increasingly theoretical physicists, biologists, mathematicians and chemists are seeing their work expand into traditionally philosophical realms that were once the domain of poets, artists, clergy and philosophers and other unreliable traders of verities (I've had involvement with art and music, myself).

I suspect most women are too busy faffing around with kids (including the high maintenance big kid) to think too deeply about life, the universe and everything. Hence the continued existence of astrology and the popularity of new age bowerbirding of existential concepts - it's how far a seeking person can go when they don't have time to think.

When women realise their mental potential, you're more likely to find us in healthcare, law and economics. Given that some of the most powerful and well connected people on the planet believe strange ancient myths, and they are obviously doing just fine, it seems that what we believe when it comes to "the big things" largely only matters to ourselves.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated—Gandhi.
User avatar
Msl0012au
New Trial Member
Posts: 4
Joined: January 10th, 2014, 5:57 am

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Msl0012au »

Greta, my undergrad degree is in philosophy, so I don't know if that qualifies me to call myself a philosopher but I have spent considerable time on some of the questions in your opening paragraphs. I will say that your description of what a philosopher is rings utterly inaccurate. Intuition is generally dismissed as a useful tool by any professional philosopher (at least when it comes to philosophical arguments), and woo woo, whatever you mean specifically, reads like a kind of insult to those who take the profession seriously. As for philosophy's irrelevance in the face of science, I'm not sure who you've read but many of the scientists I know consider philosophy an invaluable interpretive tool when it comes to evaluating their data. To be sure, there are those who, as you mention, wish to reject its relevancy. My opinion is that philosophy can and does provide a meaningful check on science, both as setting the limits on scientific claims (if scientific data suggests something that is demonstrably philosophically false, then scientists must consider a reinterpretation of that data) and as a balance for ethical dilemmas in science. In addition, rarely did my study of philosophy include asking "big questions" about life and the universe (really, that's what scientists do, yes?); those kinds of questions were generally considered to lead to a lot of metaphysical baloney that amateur philosophers engage in but which professionals believe leads to the kind of woo woo I think you were referring to.

So what is philosophy? As a starting point, the discipline of philosophy can be said to be an investigation into the nature of human life (why do we believe, act, speak, and respond as we do to the world around us). Of course these questions can be influenced by disciplines outside of philosophy, just as every discipline is influenced by disciplines beyond the narrow scope of its purview. But scientists and mathematicians who find there work expanding into the philosophical realm must yield to the professional philosopher (unless they are egomaniacal jerks, in which case they are likely to find themselves being wrong) just as philosophers must yield to the professionals in other disciplines when using their work in a philosophical inquiry.

As to the question of women in the philosophical canon, I do not think we can exclude Elizabeth Anscombe. Then there is the question of just where you place people like Mary Wollstonecraft, Helene Cixous, and Julia Kristeva, who some consider philosophers (and that is the nature of the latter two's collegiate training) but which some associate more strongly with feminist or critical theory thought, fairly or unfairly. I will say that I had three female professors in my time in college who were all substantially published and more than qualified, and met several others from across the country both as visiting scholars and at conferences, so I claim unequivocally that there is nothing inherent in women that prevents them from being philosophers.
Spectrum
Posts: 5161
Joined: December 21st, 2010, 1:25 am
Favorite Philosopher: Eclectic -Various

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Spectrum »

Greta wrote:I'm not a philosopher but I'm not even sure what that is. It seems like an uneven mix of science, intuition, experience and woo woo. Like many, I'm just interested in overviews of life and the universe, but lack the intelligence, aptitude and inclination to go into too much detail.

I've read that philosophy is increasingly being rendered irrelevant by science as the latter continues to definitely answer questions once debated by philosophers. Increasingly theoretical physicists, biologists, mathematicians and chemists are seeing their work expand into traditionally philosophical realms that were once the domain of poets, artists, clergy and philosophers and other unreliable traders of verities (I've had involvement with art and music, myself).
As you had admitted you are not sure what that is and raise a few doubts -that admission and further doubting/questioning it is philosophizing itself, albeit in your case, crude philosophy rather than refine. You will be doing more philosophizing if you investigate further (if you have such inclinations) on these questions and doubts.

As Russell had stated, the value of philosophy is in the ongoing questioning process (implying doubting) not the relative answers.

IMO, philosophy is that fundamental impulse in humans that is almost (not exactly) as near as the breathing impulse. Its basic element is a trend of net-positive continuous improvement for the well-being of the individual, the specie and others.

Philosophy at the very basic level as an impulse is more fundamental than Science which is merely another faculty of Knowledge, albeit a very useful one.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
User avatar
Sy Borg
Site Admin
Posts: 14992
Joined: December 16th, 2013, 9:05 pm

Re: Women Philosophers: Do they exist?

Post by Sy Borg »

Sorry, I'm actually not interested in who is or isn't a philosopher (there are many more interesting things) - what anyone thinks the word means. I shouldn't have replied to the question beyond saying "no" because I could defend my claims against yours but it would be long and I don't want to be drawn into it when there's other things I wish to explore.

Just one I won't let by because it sucks when people use the word "utterly" in a negative way against you :P The reason I said "woo woo", ie. unfounded beliefs was a glib (so sue me) reference to the fact that the history of philosophy is sprinkled with unfounded assertions that are either now looking shaky (Plato's dualism) or has since been fully disproved (too many to mention). Philosophical argument about the existence of God, other than the obvious absurdity of an anthropomorphised deity, is necessarily speculative rather than factual since none of us can actually know.

I would also argue that intuition is not just a useful tool but an absolutely essential one in discovery. Just because some people are unable to parse their intuitions from objective reality (as far as we know) does not invalidate intuition as an investigatory tool.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated—Gandhi.
Post Reply

Return to “General Philosophy”

2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise
by John K Danenbarger
January 2023

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023

The Unfakeable Code®

The Unfakeable Code®
by Tony Jeton Selimi
April 2023

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
by Alan Watts
May 2023

Killing Abel

Killing Abel
by Michael Tieman
June 2023

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead
by E. Alan Fleischauer
July 2023

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough
by Mark Unger
August 2023

Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
September 2023

Artwords

Artwords
by Beatriz M. Robles
November 2023

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope
by Dr. Randy Ross
December 2023

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes
by Ali Master
February 2024

2022 Philosophy Books of the Month

Emotional Intelligence At Work

Emotional Intelligence At Work
by Richard M Contino & Penelope J Holt
January 2022

Free Will, Do You Have It?

Free Will, Do You Have It?
by Albertus Kral
February 2022

My Enemy in Vietnam

My Enemy in Vietnam
by Billy Springer
March 2022

2X2 on the Ark

2X2 on the Ark
by Mary J Giuffra, PhD
April 2022

The Maestro Monologue

The Maestro Monologue
by Rob White
May 2022

What Makes America Great

What Makes America Great
by Bob Dowell
June 2022

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!
by Jerry Durr
July 2022

Living in Color

Living in Color
by Mike Murphy
August 2022 (tentative)

The Not So Great American Novel

The Not So Great American Novel
by James E Doucette
September 2022

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches
by John N. (Jake) Ferris
October 2022

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All
by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
November 2022

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity

The Smartest Person in the Room
by Christian Espinosa
December 2022

2021 Philosophy Books of the Month

The Biblical Clock: The Untold Secrets Linking the Universe and Humanity with God's Plan

The Biblical Clock
by Daniel Friedmann
March 2021

Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe

Wilderness Cry
by Dr. Hilary L Hunt M.D.
April 2021

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute
by Jeff Meyer
May 2021

Surviving the Business of Healthcare: Knowledge is Power

Surviving the Business of Healthcare
by Barbara Galutia Regis M.S. PA-C
June 2021

Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure

Winning the War on Cancer
by Sylvie Beljanski
July 2021

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream
by Dr Frank L Douglas
August 2021

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts
by Mark L. Wdowiak
September 2021

The Preppers Medical Handbook

The Preppers Medical Handbook
by Dr. William W Forgey M.D.
October 2021

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress
by Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, MD
November 2021

Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir

Dream For Peace
by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah
December 2021