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Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences pp 1–9Cite as

Women in Early Modern Philosophy and Science: An Introduction

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Synonyms

Early modern science; Women philosophers, Early modern philosophy

Definition

Essential ideas significantly connected to humanism, Renaissance, and early modern philosophy stem from women’s pens. The supportive role of women in the early modern period has hardly been recognized up to today. The relevant issues women have contributed to range from commentaries on and critiques of the Bible, and their demands for equality and the critique of political institutions, topics that became eminent enhancers of political and societal change in the relevant period of early modern philosophy, to enlightenment philosophy.

The experience of oppression allowed women to critically reflect epistemology and traditions. The claim on the truth of the subject’s self-experience became a marker to rebut scholarly wisdom from the books that were seen as “filled with prejudice.” Women evaluated sources from antiquity, retracing their own legacies back to the figures of the ancient period. As a result,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, Section Philosophy, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany

    Ruth Edith Hagengruber

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  1. Ruth Edith Hagengruber
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Correspondence to Ruth Edith Hagengruber .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Section Editor information

  1. Institut für Humanwissenschaften, Philosophie, Universität Paderborn, Paderborn, Deutschland

    Ruth Edith Hagengruber

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Hagengruber, R.E. (2021). Women in Early Modern Philosophy and Science: An Introduction. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_529-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_529-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

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