The complicated exercise of having an intellectually stimulating life as a woman
In recent years, bookstore shelves have been adorned with covers of thinking women, in the philosophy section, worth noting.
Books like The Philosopher Queens (2020) by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting, Women Philosophers in Nineteenth-Century Britain (2022) by Alison Stone and Metaphysical Animal, How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life (2022) by Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman - all great examples.
Philosophy is no longer the preserve of the male, living or dead - now more female thinkers in the literary and philosophical corner have become something of a stab at the patriarchy that exists in some academic fields.
The latest is author and journalist Regan Penaluna, currently working on her book How To Think Like a Woman (2023), in which she talks about sexism and discrimination in the field of philosophy. The complicated exercise of having an intellectually stimulating life as a woman. Not least the importance of retelling the stories of her role models, female philosophers from a, for many, forgotten time and their influence on philosophical thinking throughout the ages.
The aforementioned Penaluna was a research fellow in philosophy before leaving the field, and in the first part of the book she reports on her unhappiness as a master's student at university, faced with a professor who questions whether women are as smart as men - where she was one of two female students in the same room.
According to Peneluna, the author, this is nothing new in the academic universe, and after three years as a master's student, she has yet to study female philosophers, much to her dismay.
However, the most disturbing aspect of the book is not Peneluna's experiences, but all the male philosophers who have had a narrow-minded relationship with women in this field over several eras. Peneluna has written several notes on these, a bouquet of men: Edward Clarke, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Charles Darwin, David Hume etc. And also about Friedrich Nietzsche, who in his philosophy was a self-proclaimed champion of women's liberation. He approved education for women at university level and encouraged his sister to get a doctorate in philosophy.
But to quote Peneluna quoting Nietzsche: "In general, women do not love any of the arts, have no knowledge of them and are not geniuses". In this way, he joins the vast majority of male philosophers - all of whom have made negative statements about women's minds and intelligence.
Through the book's additional content, we get to know the women from around the 17th and 19th centuries, including Mary Astell, Catharine Cockburn and Mary Wollstonecraft, who, among other things, wrote important defenses of women's minds. But also rich thoughts on women's liberation in the face of love.
Peneluna writes a lot about liberation and love and uses herself as an example. She falls for a man called Alex and they get married. He studies philosophy himself. In the relationship, she often doubts herself because she feels she needs Alex to confirm her way of thinking. She ends up wanting a divorce as part of a liberation project. Later, a new marriage and two children appeared, and a career in scientific journalism.
The book is very comprehensive in terms of thinkers and their philosophical values, memories and experienced life, but it can quickly become a lot of repetition about love, unfree existence and insecurity for herself and among former female philosophers.
But the book is an important reminder that women's intelligence is just as important and appealing today as that of the men of antiquity.
One might wonder about the author's tendency to problematize the philosophical woman of today. Is it as problematic today as she makes it out to be? And one might also question whether love and feminist thinking are opposites.
It's perfectly possible to be a thinking, independent woman today, in an equal relationship. Love as an entity may not always be equal, but neither may the rest of life be. I miss self-examination, both when it comes to love and the lack of female students in the field of philosophy.
In France, philosophy is dominated by women, such as the philosopher Corine Pelluchon, who specializes in medical ethics and animal rights. And we have philosopher Manon Garcia, who specializes in feminism.
Could it be that fewer women choose the field because of popular and gender-based studies that appeal differently to women? Could there be differences from country to country, with more women in some countries studying philosophy based on culture, as they do in France?
Peneluna reports on important experiences in the field, but she should also question whether there is a different culture where she comes from compared to other places.
I get the impression that more women are choosing the humanities as their field today, and bookstores have never seen more female thinkers than today. A positive sign.
The thinking woman is on the rise and we should both celebrate and question the fact that the thinking woman now participates in a sophisticated conversation about right and wrong. A thinking woman now also dares to accept criticism. Last, but not least: "A free man treats women equally", wise words from another thinking woman, Catherine Trotter Cockburn. Bring on the thinking woman!