Well, What Does She Think?
For many years (and possibly still today), it was possible to get a university degree in philosophy without ever having studied or discussed a female philosopher. For real.
To answer the obvious question, yes, many female thinkers weren’t allowed to study in academic institutions, and did not get consideration from publishers, at least not without using a man’s name. There were, no doubt a lot of limitations. However, many female thinkers did get to study, did get to publish their work, and despite not being taken seriously, did manage to make their mark on philosophy.
They were there, they did it, and they were good at it. They just didn’t get included.
When we created our ThinkAboutIt book/app series, and our Famous Brains video series, we set out to try and help with this. We made our ThinkAboutIt narrator a girl, and we had her chat with a number of historical female figures. When we put together our I Was Wondering series, we sought interviewees who were women in the midst of making history. In our picture books for younger readers, we’ve tried to give female characters equal footing.
A huge part of our mandate as a publisher has always been to include a variety of voices and perspectives, and to demonstrate that philosophy really is for everyone, regardless of gender, age, or nationality. We’re committed to letting the next generation of little thinkers know that everyone needs to be part of the conversation in order for it to be useful.
Over the years, we’ve learned about so many amazing female minds. These remarkable thinkers have asked big questions about truth, art, nature, logic, and identity. We’ve also learned about amazing thinkers outside of philosophy. Did you know that the first historical mention of a chemist was a woman (Tapputi-Belatikallim, Mesopotamia, 1200 BCE)? A woman invented the astrolabe (Hypatia of Alexandria, Egypt, 350 AD). A woman wrote the first computer program (Ada Lovelace, England, 1815 AD).
The more we look, the more we find, and the bigger the thinking community (past and present) becomes.
Women’s History Month is a fantastic time to start exploring these historical thinkers with your child, but it’s really meant to be a year-round pursuit. It shouldn’t just be about finding amazing women either. Philosophical voices from all kinds of marginalized groups need to be given space and appreciation. It’s the right thing to do, and it also makes the conversation that much richer.
Happy thinking, everyone (and we mean everyone)!
