Sophie Smith reviewed the following two books in the latest issue of LRB (Vol. 46 No. 8 · 25 April 2024):
How to Think like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind by Regan Penaluna.
The Routledge Handbook of Women and Early Modern European Philosophy edited by Karen Detlefsen and Lisa Shapiro.
Here is her review.
Workshop: “The Cavendish Circle: Philosophical Networks in the 17th Century”
30 April 2024
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage
Papers presented in the workshop investigate ways in which philosophical and scientific ideas were discussed and circulated through the mediation and within the context of the so-called “Cavendish Circle” during the 1640s.
By gathering five expert contributors, this event aims to shed light on a vibrant intellectual context, which was seminal for the advancement of the ideas of pivotal thinkers in the history of European philosophy, such as Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes, Margaret Cavendish, Pierre Gassendi, Kenelm Digby, and Walter Charleton.
Papers discussed in the workshop will be submitted for a special issue in Hobbes Studies (forthcoming in 2025).
The event takes place 30 years after the publication of one of the most important studies of the Cavendish Circle to date, namely the special issue The Cavendish Circle in The Seventeenth Century 9:2 (1994, ed. Timothy Raylor).
Invited speakers:
Julia Borcherding (University of Cambridge)
Stephen Clucas (Birkbeck, University of London)
Karolina Hübner (Cornell University)
Antonia LoLordo (University of Virginia)
Timothy Raylor (Carleton College)
Programme:
9:15 : Breakfast and introduction
10:00 – 11:15 : Timothy Raylor “Hobbes and the Cavendish Family”
11:15 – 12:30 : Stephen Clucas “Modus notandi: Charles Cavendish’s notes on Thomas Hobbes and Walter Warner”
Lunch break
13:45 – 15:00 : Karolina Hübner “What kind of a materialist is Cavendish?”
15:00 – 16:15 : Julia Borcherding “A Whole Is Greater Than Its Parts: Cavendish and Hobbesian Materialism”
Coffee break
16:30 – 17:45 : Antonia LoLordo “The Activity of Matter in Cavendish and Gassendi”
Venue: Aula Valent, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Malcanton Marcorà, Dorsoduro 3484/D, Venice, Italy. https://apps.unive.it/mappe/sede/990044
Organizers: Oberto Marrama and Pietro Daniel Omodeo
For questions and information: oberto.marrama@unive.it
This event is funded by the European Union, through the HORIZON-MSCA-PF Project 101064483 “MC-EuCon – Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673) in the history of European ideas of consciousness”.
Event webpage: https://philevents.org/event/show/121274
I know it’s March already, but please help yourselves to an updated 2024 Calendar with pictures of French Revolutionary women to celebrate Women’s History Month. I made it last year to mark the publication of my book Liberty in Their Names.
You can find lots of stories from my research for that book on this blog: Liberty in Thy Name.
My new work-in-progress book The Home: a Philosophical project (working title) also has a blog with posts about women’s history. I’m sharing the latest one about why it’s important to get the history of the private and public sphere right here.
And finally: here’s a picture of one woman who (literally) made history:
Louise Keralio Robert (1756-1822) was an historian, printer and political journalist. She wrote a history of Queen Elizabeth I, prepared a literary history of French woman authors and edited and printed her own journal – Le Mercure National – during the French Revolution.
In the Letters on Sympathy (1798) Sophie de Grouchy argues that the way to reduce injustice is to make it the case that ‘laws no longer support wealth inequality’ (134). She suggests that a fair distribution of the resources a country like France in the 18th century has to offer, even accounting for a degree of ‘natural inequality’, even the poorest members of society would be well-off, owing on average ‘two or three acres of crop’ which corresponds to ‘fifty livres’ (134).
Aside from the abolition of poverty, which is one of the main causes of crime, she says, reducing the gap between the very rich and the very poor would mean making it harder for members of these classes to injure each other:
“It is because the extreme inequality of fortunes, and the great distance there is between one class and the other, renders men strangers to each other. Virtues cannot recognize each other unless they be placed, by chance, at the same level. The powerful man and the worker in his employ are too far removed from each other to be able to judge one another. And because their respective duties seem to get lost in the distance between them, the one may oppress the other nearly without remorse, while the other will in turn cheat him with impunity, even believing that he is in this way bringing justice to himself.” 151-2.
The type of scenario she describes is not alien to us: we can vividly picture Jeff Bezos and one of the Amazon factory workers in this situation. Not much has changed in this respect.
But this might be the point: not much has changed. And is the reason not much has due to the caution of writers, like Grouchy, who only wanted to minimize, rather than eliminate wealth inequalities? 18th century authors in general, for all their talk of equality, couldn’t quite get their heads around the concept. Emmanuel Sieyes, for instance, praised for his article on the Third Estate, arguing that workers ought to participate in the choices that France was about to make, because they constitute the great majority of the population, and in fact could be said to be the ‘soul of the nation’ struggled with the idea that anyone but the richest of the white and male section of the third estate should be allowed to participate fully in politics. And we when we look at Sophie de Grouchy, it comes to mind, perhaps, that she came from an extremely rich family, and married an extremely rich man. Would she have wanted to protect some of her privileges?
Is her focus on extreme inequality a weakness of her philosophy, a sign that she wasn’t quite as sincere as she thought she was in her desires for reform? There’s another way of looking at it: what Grouchy is proposing is a realistic reform project for a very real problem, which is brought on not by wealth inequality as such, but by extreme wealth.
In Limitarianism, Ingrid Robeyns describes the willingness, desire, even, of certain extremely wealthy people to be taxed fully and fairly: it’s either the taxes of the pitchforks, they say (chapter 8). The very rich of 18th century France got the pitchforks (and the guillotine). And I am strongly inclined to believe that wealth inequality then had not much on what it is now, if Robeyn’s numbers are anything to go by.
Extreme inequality can be fixed at least partly by taxation and reforming inheritance laws, argues Robeyns convincingly (chapter 9). Tax money can go towards infrastructures that benefit all, but perhaps especially those that are poorest – basic income, free school lunches (and breakfasts!) national healthcare, etc. Tax reform won’t bring about complete wealth equality, true, but it’s not clear that this would be an answer to the problems we are trying to fix – poverty, exploitation of human beings and natural resources – and those we want to avoid – civil unrest, ecological disasters. Maybe Sophie de Grouchy too, rather than trying to avoid looking too closely at her own privileges, was interested in solving some of those problems. Certainly, having lived through one revolution, she was not keen on another taking place.
Women and Epistemic Emotions in the Early Modern PeriodMcMaster University
McMaster University
25-27 October 2024
Submission deadline: 30 March 2024
Notification of acceptance: 6 April 2024
This workshop highlights the subject of women and epistemic emotions – emotions which either aid us in knowing or are themselves instances of knowledge – in the early modern period. Paradigm examples of epistemic emotions include doubt and curiosity, though other emotions such as love or fear may also play important epistemic roles. Thus, an epistemic emotion is one that plays a causal role in driving our efforts to know something, or in the critical reflection and revision of what it is that we know.
Though the ongoing recovery and reintegration project is robustly underway, early modern women and epistemic emotions have been largely overlooked. This workshop is an effort to create and disseminate new knowledge and interpretive tools. As such, we intend to publish revised versions of the papers presented at this workshop in an edited volume.
The workshop features two keynote speakers – Martina Reuter (Jyväskylä) and Lisa Shapiro (McGill) – and invited papers from Marcy Lascano (KU), Anik Waldow (Sydney), Getty Lustila (Northeastern), Aminah Hasan-Birdwell (Emory), Allauren Samantha Forbes (McMaster), Elena Gordon (McGill-Jyväskylä), and Manuel Vasquez Villavicencio (McMaster).
We have held four speaking slots open and so are inviting submissions of anonymized abstracts between 500-750 words. We are especially interested in receiving abstracts from early-career or emerging scholars (e.g., advanced PhD students, CLAs/Adjuncts, Assistant Professors) and contributions which highlight women philosophers’ “non-traditional” philosophical texts – e.g., letters, plays, and novels. Please also include a coversheet with name, position, paper title, and affiliation. Submissions should be sent as pdf files to Allauren at forbeas@mcmaster.ca. Receipt of submission will be confirmed by email; notification of acceptance will go out by 6 April 2024.
We will be able to offer some financial support to these four speakers: we will cover their 3-night hotel stay and will be able to offer a small stipend toward their travel expenses. We will also be providing a mentoring luncheon which pairs early-career and established scholar speakers. As such, drafts of the full paper to be included in the edited volume emerging from this conference will be due to the organizers for distribution to the mentors by 25 September 2024. We will also host a conference dinner for all speakers on 26 October 2024.
While our venues are accessible and we can accommodate dietary needs, please contact Allauren at forbeas@mcmaster.ca with any specific questions on these matters.
– Organizers
Allauren Samantha Forbes (forbeas@mcmaster.ca)
Elena Gordon (elena.gordon@mcgill.ca)
From PhilEvents.
Dalia Nassar has just announced the opening of the Lucy Firth PhD Scholarship in the History of Philosophy at the University of Sydney, with a special focus on women in 18th – 19th century philosophy. This scholarship will be over three years. The successful candidate would work with Dalia Nassar and Anik Waldow at the University of Sydney.
Expectations include:
Background in the history of philosophy, especially modern philosophy, would be useful, though not required.
The scholarship opens on February 13, with a closing date of May 1, 2024. Notification will take place in June, with the student able to commence in either July 2024 or January 2025.
More information and link to the online application can be found here.
https://www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships/b/research-scholarship-in-history-of-philosophy.html
The Department of Philosophy at the University of York, UK, in collaboration with English Heritage, has secured funding for a PhD scholarship on Margaret Cavendish’s philosophy of mind. This is a collaborative Doctoral award, with opportunities to work with English Heritage at Bolsover Castle.
The PhD is funded by the White Rose College for the Arts and Humanities (WRoCAH)
Deadline for expressions of interest is 6th March (12 noon (UK time)
For further details see Mind of Margaret Cavendish
La philosophie de Marguerite Porete – Appel de textes
Numéro thématique de la revue Philosophiques, printemps 2025
De Marguerite Porete ne nous est parvenu qu’un seul ouvrage, Le miroir des âmes simples et anéanties et qui seulement demeurent en vouloir et désir d’amour. Dans ce traité d’édification spirituelle sont décrites les différentes étapes que l’âme peut parcourir jusqu’à l’état mystique. L’autrice y soutient que l’âme n’est véritablement libre que lorsqu’elle abandonne son agentivité à Dieu et que l’âme qui connaît l’état mystique n’est plus sous le joug des vertus ni d’« Église-la-petite ». Marguerite manifesta elle-même quelque chose de la liberté dépeinte dans son livre alors qu’elle défia l’interdit de diffusion de son ouvrage, refusa de prendre part aux procédures de son procès et émut par son attitude digne la foule qui assista à son exécution. Le Miroir des simples âmes fut en effet condamné et brûlé sur la place publique de Valenciennes autour de 1300 par l’évêque de Cambrai et connut à nouveau l’autodafé à Paris en 1310, cette fois avec son autrice. Bien que plusieurs études récentes aient contribué à mettre au jour la pensée de Marguerite, différents aspects de celle-ci demeurent encore à établir ou à approfondir. Les acceptions de « vertu », la division et le rapport des objets de l’intellect et de la volonté, la conception de la liberté ou encore le rapport entre la volonté et la liberté en sont quelques exemples.
La question de l’appartenance de la pensée de Marguerite à la philosophie et celle de son inclusion dans le canon philosophique peuvent également être soulevées. D’une part, le Miroir des simples âmes se présente comme un essai de mystique spéculative, un champ théorique aux confins de la philosophie par son recoupement avec la théologie. D’autre part, le miroir possède des traits qui ont incliné à juger d’une qualité philosophique moindre les textes écrits par des femmes au fil des siècles. En effet, il n’est pas composé sous la forme d’un traité structuré et ne présente pas de pensée systématique. Les développements théoriques sont par ailleurs intimement liés à des considérations relatives à l’action ou à un mode de vie à promouvoir.
Mettre au jour les contributions philosophiques de Marguerite Porete et discuter de celles-ci, telle est la visée du dossier « La philosophie de Marguerite Porete ». Celui-ci s’inscrit dans la volonté de développer le canon philosophique en l’étendant aux figures jusqu’à présent en marge de l’histoire de la pensée. Il invite, d’une part, des contributions sur la philosophie de Marguerite Porete et, d’autre part, des réflexions métaphilosophiques sur les apports de l’autrice à l’histoire de la philosophie. En conséquence, sont bienvenues les contributions mettant au jour ou discutant les notions, présupposés, thèses, distinctions et arguments que présente le Miroir des simples âmes (notamment en situant ces éléments par rapport à des positions antérieures, contemporaines ou postérieures à celui-ci) et les propositions discutant des enjeux soulevés par l’inclusion de la pensée de Marguerite dans le canon et la discipline philosophiques.
Soumission d’une proposition
Le dossier paraîtra dans la revue Philosophiques, revue de philosophie et d’histoire de la philosophie en accès libre sur Érudit, au printemps 2025.
Les textes doivent être soumis pour le 31 août 2024 à la fois à Geneviève Barrette (genevieve.barrette@mcgill.ca) et à Marie Laplante-Anfossi (laplante-anfossi.marie@courrier.uqam.ca).
Le texte soumis doit être rédigé en français. Il doit compter environ 11 000 mots et être précédé de deux résumés, le premier en français et le second en anglais (maximum 1000 caractères chacun, incluant les espaces).
Chaque texte sera évalué anonymement par au moins deux évaluatrices ou évaluateurs externes. Il est ainsi demandé que le fichier soumis soit exempt de toute indication susceptible de révéler l’identité de son autrice ou de son auteur (noms, coordonnées, références dans le corps du texte ou en notes, etc.).
Le détail de la politique éditoriale et des directives pour la préparation des manuscrits peut être consulté ici : https://laspq.org/philosophiques/publier.
La philosophie de Marguerite Porete – Appel de textes (format PDF) :https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bgteoEbG8Ej5_w_z-XH3-W3XjxhLMWpP/view?usp=drive_link
27 March – 8 May 2024, Online event.
Organised by Alison Stone (Lancaster)
The seminar series on Women in Nineteenth Century Philosophy draws together scholarship rediscovering women philosophers from nineteenth-century Britain who have been unjustly left out of the philosophical canon. The talks introduce these women and their thinking on such topics as feminism, animals, metaphysics, religion, science and Darwinism.
Details and program here.
The Pavillon des Sources, one of three buildings in which Marie Curie conducted her research, is under threat.
To help persuade the relevant authorities not to unleash bulldozers on this historical site, please sign the petition below.
For more information see:
https://musee.curie.fr/blog/est-ce-que-le-petit-pavillon-faisait-partie-du-laboratoire-curie
https://musee.curie.fr/nous/nos-publications/les-femmes-du-laboratoire-de-marie-curie
Feminist History of Philosophy 