Women in Philosophy
Last updated: September 17, 2024
Historically, Western philosophy has been quite a sexist domain. Fortunately, more and more women are writing philosophy now. There's also been significant research into the history of women in philosophy—the neglected history of women philosophers, as it were. As well as our reading lists on individual philosophers, a good place to start with thinking about women in philosophy is Lisa Whiting and Rebecca Buxton's book, The Philosopher Queens.
The Best Simone de Beauvoir Books, recommended by Kate Kirkpatrick
Simone de Beauvoir is remembered today as the pioneering feminist author of The Second Sex and a close companion of Jean Paul Sartre. But the scope of her intellectual contribution has long been underestimated, argues her latest biographer Kate Kirkpatrick, who offers an introduction to the landscape of Beauvoir’s works, from fiction to philosophy to life writing.
The best books on Hannah Arendt, recommended by Samantha Rose Hill
Unimpressed by the response of philosophers to the rise of Nazism in her native Germany, Hannah Arendt rejected the notion of being a philosopher and said she was a political theorist. Samantha Rose Hill, writer and formerly assistant director of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, talks us through Hannah Arendt’s life and work—and suggests which books to read if we want to learn more about her and her ideas.
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1
Reflections on the Revolution in France
by Edmund Burke -
2
A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful
by Edmund Burke -
3
A Vindication of the Rights of Men and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
by Mary Wollstonecraft, edited by Sylvana Tomaselli -
4
Letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
by Mary Wollstonecraft -
5
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
by Adam Smith
The Best Mary Wollstonecraft Books, recommended by Sylvana Tomaselli
The Best Mary Wollstonecraft Books, recommended by Sylvana Tomaselli
Mary Wollstonecraft lived by her pen and wrote trenchant critiques of the role of women and marriage in late 18th century British society. She died aged 38, a few days after giving birth to her second daughter, Mary Shelley. She is often remembered for writing the Vindication of the Rights of Woman, but it was not in fact her best book, says Cambridge intellectual historian Sylvana Tomaselli. Here, she recommends books to read to get a good understanding of the extraordinary Mary Wollstonecraft, and the writers she was both influenced by and reacting against.
The Best George Eliot Books, recommended by Philip Davis
George Eliot is all but synonymous with Victorian realism; for D H Lawrence, she was the first novelist to start ‘putting all the action inside.’ Here, Philip Davis, author of The Transferred Life of George Eliot, selects the best books by or about one of the greatest novelists of all time: ‘If you want to read literature that sets out to create a holding ground for raw human material—for human struggles, difficulties, and celebrations—read George Eliot’
The Best Iris Murdoch Books, recommended by Miles Leeson
Iris Murdoch gained fame as a novelist, a philosopher and, perhaps most prominently of all, for her public and rapid decline (and posthumous immortalization by her husband John Bayley) after an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. But now, more than a century on from her birth, the attention is returning back to her work. Miles Leeson, Director of the Iris Murdoch Centre at the University of Chichester, recommends what books to read from her canon of 27 novels.
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Consciousness Explained
by Daniel Dennett -
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Principles of Psychology
by William James -
3
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
by Julian Jaynes -
4
The Mind's I: Fantasies And Reflections On Self & Soul
by Daniel Dennett & Douglas Hofstadter -
5
Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life
by Peter Godfrey-Smith
The best books on Consciousness, recommended by Susan Blackmore
The best books on Consciousness, recommended by Susan Blackmore
The ‘hard problem’ of consciousness – of how the physical matter of the brain produces the psychological phenomenon of consciousness – has dogged psychologists and neuroscientists for decades. But what if we’ve been posing the question incorrectly all this time? The psychologist Susan Blackmore discusses five key texts that tackle this quicksilver concept.
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Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
by Kate Crawford -
2
The Ethical Algorithm: The Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design
by Aaron Roth & Michael Kearns -
3
Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
by Stuart Russell -
4
The Technological Singularity
by Murray Shanahan -
5
Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong
by Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen -
6
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
Ethics for Artificial Intelligence Books, recommended by Paula Boddington
Ethics for Artificial Intelligence Books, recommended by Paula Boddington
Advances in artificial intelligence pose a myriad of ethical questions, but the most incisive thinking on this subject says more about humans than it does about machines, says Paula Boddington, philosopher and author of a recent AI ethics textbook. We first spoke to Paula in 2017—a long time ago in a fast-moving field. This week we caught up with her to find out what’s happened since then and which new books have taken the conversation over ethics and AI further.
The best books on Existentialism, recommended by Sarah Bakewell
Existentialist philosophy isn’t about bringing despair and angst into our lives, it’s about discovering our inner freedom, explains Sarah Bakewell, the author of At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails. She recommends books to learn more about existentialism.
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Mountain Gloom And Mountain Glory: The Development of the Aesthetics of the Infinite
by Marjorie Hope Nicolson -
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Letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
by Mary Wollstonecraft -
3
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau -
4
The Art of Travel
by Alain de Botton -
5
How to Talk About Places You've Never Been: On the Importance of Armchair Travel
by Michele Hutchison (translator) & Pierre Bayard
The Best Books on the Philosophy of Travel, recommended by Emily Thomas
The Best Books on the Philosophy of Travel, recommended by Emily Thomas
At its best, travel broadens our minds, expands our horizons and allows us to see the world we live in differently. But it has also played an important role in the history of philosophy. Emily Thomas, author of The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad, explores the connections between her two passions—philosophy and travel—at a moment when most of us are unable to leave our houses: perhaps the perfect moment to reflect on travel’s significance for human beings.
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Killing Rage: Ending Racism
by bell hooks -
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Race Matters
by Cornel West -
3
The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America
by Nicholas Buccola -
4
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
by Carol Anderson -
5
Citizen: An American Lyric
by Claudia Rankine
The best books on Anger at Racial Injustice, recommended by Myisha Cherry
The best books on Anger at Racial Injustice, recommended by Myisha Cherry
In many philosophical and religious traditions, anger is regarded as a useless emotion that’s best avoided but it can play a vital role in the fight against injustice. American philosopher Myisha Cherry, author of The Case for Rage, recommends books that shed light on how to be angry productively.