Émilie Du Châtelet and the defense of women’s education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/isegoria.2023.69.13Keywords:
Émilie Du Châtelet, Women's education, Querelle des femmes, Eighteenth centuryAbstract
The aim of this paper is examining Émilie Du Châtelet’s (1706-1749) position regarding the issue of the defense of women’s education. We will focus on two of her works: her French adaptation of Mandeville’s The fable of the bees and her Discourse on Happiness. We will study Du Châtelet’s dialogue with some intellectual figures involved in this debate, such as François Fénelon, the abbé de Saint-Pierre, and Anna Maria van Schurman. The goal is to show the radicality of Du Châtelet’s position, against those interpretations which tend to discredit or underestimate the philosopher’s commitment with the cause of the defense of women’s education.
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