The influence of Cartesian sources on Mary Astell's religious and political work
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/isegoria.2024.71.1536Keywords:
Astell, Cartesianism, Jansenism, Anglicanism, PoliticsAbstract
The article points to the presence of several French sources in the second part of Mary Astell's A Serious Proposal to the Ladies. Through an examination of this writing, it shows that these sources include not only works by René Descartes, but also by later authors whose thought is often referred to as "Cartesian". It then argues that if we understand Astell's reception of these sources in terms of her polemical aims, we can appreciate the extent to which these various Cartesian elements persist or find original expression in her later religious and political works.
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