The Philosopher Queens

 I can’t speak for the rest of my Introduction to Philosophy class, but I was disappointed that we didn’t encounter any female philosophers until we reached the 20th century. I felt like an important part of the philosophical tradition was missing from our discussion. For a class that begins before the common era, the 20th century is quite a late start. Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting, authors/editors of The Philosopher Queens, explain that this isn’t an isolated phenomenon. In the introduction of the book, The Philosopher Queens, the authors highlight that the field of Philosophy hasn’t historically been populated by women. Buxton and Whiting talk about their own journeys studying philosophy, where the courses they took and the books they read rarely mentioned female philosophers, if they mentioned them at all. Some classes would have a ‘Women in Philosophy’ section, while the men take up the other 95% of the syllabus. The book goes on to discuss 20 philosopher women, and includes another section at the back of the book, titled “More Philosopher Queens”, with another 93 women to research on your own. With 113 philosophers mentioned in this one book alone, it makes me wonder why these classes and books only maybe include one or two. The focus of this review is on the first half of the book, to show that women have been contributing to our understanding of life itself from philosophy’s ancient inception. 

The chronological scope starts out as early as the ‘founding father of philosophy’ himself. We begin with Diotima, a common character in Plato’s dialogues. Diotima appears in Plato’s Symposium, where a banquet of men engage in conversation around the topics of love and desire. It is here that Socrates recalls learning from Diotima when he was younger. He talks about how they would engage in conversations where Diotima would ask Socrates probing questions about his views and definitions to uncover why he believed them and potentially persuade him in the other direction. This type of conversation later became known as the Socratic method. It baffles me how I've never heard her name, when she is said to have inspired one of the most infamous methodologies in philosophy.

Skipping ahead, we find ourselves on Hypatia. Hypatia was a very well renowned philosopher and teacher who lived around 350-415 AD. She lived and taught in Alexandria at a time when it was still a part of the Roman Empire. Hypatia did notable work in mathematics and astronomy, wrote numerous commentaries, and became famous for her philosophical teachings. Because none of her written works have survived, we don’t exactly know if she derived any original theories. What we do know of her philosophy comes from her reputation as a teacher. Numerous sources speak of not only students, but political figures of the day coming to attend her lectures. Students would travel great distances to hear her speak. Hypatia not only taught inside the classroom, she often ventured out and taught in the public square. She would lecture common people on Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. Teaching in public was common for the men of the time, but unusual activity for a woman. Because she was able to defy the standard and go out in public and teach, as well as the great way she was revered, testifies to the great philosopher she was. 

Moving east, we jump to Lalla Arifa, as she is known to Muslims, or Lalleshwari, as she is known to Hindus. She is also known by the names of Lal Ded, or simply just Lalla. Lalla lived in Kashmir from approximately 1320 to 1392, a time of tension between Hindu and Islamic traditions. At the age of 26 Lalla renounced her marriage and her life and became a nomadic ascetic. She composed poems called “Vahks” to record her ideas in ways that ordinary Kashmiri people could understand. Her main ideas were that the divine was internal, not something solely found within temples and ritual. Because of this, she was critical of idol worship and animal sacrifice, and in contrast advocated for personal divine connection and self-knowledge.

The chronology of the book catches up very quickly with the modern day, as it immediately shifts from Lalla of the 14th century, to Mary Astell of the 18th. Astell spent most of her life in London, and was not properly educated. She had an intellectual uncle named Ralph that is though to have tutored her. Astell is our first big feminist writer, publishing her philosophical book A serious Proposal to the Ladies in 1694. Astell talks about and criticises the roles put in place for men and women at her time. She said that women were conditioned into lacking personal autonomy. Her concern wasn’t that women lacked rights, or that they were oppressed by patriarchal society, she thought that women’s selves were corrupted by the social norms and roles of the time. She said that this led women to be susceptible to ethical flaws like vanity and pride. She thought that this could be combatted by proper education and striving for self control and autonomy. 

The final philosopher that I will touch on is a name that might be a little familiar. Mary Wollstonecraft was a philosopher that lived from 1759-1797 in London. Wollstonecraft wrote several works about her philosophical ideas. As she was poorly educated as a child and taught herself, Wollstonecraft was very invested in the education of young women. In her books A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, she talks about the need for a proper and equal education of girls. She also advocates for women traveling the world, stating that it’s unfair of men’s ability to experience the world and not their wives. Her love of writing was instilled in and inspired her daughter, Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein. Power family.

In reality, women have always been part of philosophy. They have shaped ideas about knowledge, power, justice, spirituality, and the body in ways that continue to influence us today. Their contributions are every bit as innovative and transformative as those of male philosophers. The issue has never been a lack of philosophical achievement, it has been the unwillingness of institutions and traditions to acknowledge and put forth their voices. When we include women in the philosophical narrative, the story becomes richer, accurate, and more human.

(Skylar Bishop Section 3)