Mattia Begali

Primary Theme: Education & Human Development

Philosophy is a surprisingly static enterprise: the canonical figures in early modern philosophy, from Descartes and Locke to Hume and Kant, have remained essentially fixed in teaching and research for the past 50 years. The all-male canon reflects the fact that women were often excluded from early modern intellectual life, which centered on universities like Oxford and institutions like the Acad ;mie Royales des Sciences in Paris. New historical research demonstrates that many women managed nonetheless to publish philosophical works in French, German and English. Until very recently, however, college courses throughout the English-speaking world have neglected them.