Mary Astell: Theorist of Freedom from DominationPhilosopher, theologian, educational theorist, feminist and political pamphleteer, Mary Astell was an important figure in the history of ideas of the early modern period. Among the first systematic critics of John Locke's entire corpus, she is best known for the famous question which prefaces her Reflections on Marriage: 'If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?' She is claimed by modern Republican theorists and feminists alike but, as a Royalist High Church Tory, the peculiar constellation of her views sits uneasily with modern commentators. Patricia Springborg's study addresses these apparent paradoxes, recovering the historical and philosophical contexts to her thought. She shows that Astell was not alone in her views; rather, she was part of a cohort of early modern women philosophers who were important for the reception of Descartes and who grappled with the existential problems of a new age. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 67
Page 13
... divine and profane , could be construed as a species of Spinozism or pantheism and therefore heretical . Astell's return to occasionalism in The Christian Religion , as Taylor points out , is proba- bly due to the fact that her ...
... divine and profane , could be construed as a species of Spinozism or pantheism and therefore heretical . Astell's return to occasionalism in The Christian Religion , as Taylor points out , is proba- bly due to the fact that her ...
Page 14
... Divine Clock - work , that Act only by the force of nice unseen Springs without Sensation , and cry out without feeling Pain , Eat without Hunger , Drink without Thurst , fawn upon their Keepers without seeing ' 14 Introduction : Astell ...
... Divine Clock - work , that Act only by the force of nice unseen Springs without Sensation , and cry out without feeling Pain , Eat without Hunger , Drink without Thurst , fawn upon their Keepers without seeing ' 14 Introduction : Astell ...
Page 30
... Divine Speculations , that she had but small opportunities of making her self acquainted with the Worlds Theatre or any of it's Appendages : So that a Thinking Person , or one that had had but a small share of candour or good nature wou ...
... Divine Speculations , that she had but small opportunities of making her self acquainted with the Worlds Theatre or any of it's Appendages : So that a Thinking Person , or one that had had but a small share of candour or good nature wou ...
Page 36
... divine- right absolutism , and it was only in the course of the eighteenth century that the terms connoted structured political parties . Under Queen Anne , the Tories represented the resistance , mainly from the country gentry , to ...
... divine- right absolutism , and it was only in the course of the eighteenth century that the terms connoted structured political parties . Under Queen Anne , the Tories represented the resistance , mainly from the country gentry , to ...
Page 37
... divine right of kings . Laud ( 1573- 1645 ) , archbishop of Canterbury , cast a long shadow over the seventeenth century , as both a churchman and a politician who contributed to setting High Church politics on their course , but was ...
... divine right of kings . Laud ( 1573- 1645 ) , archbishop of Canterbury , cast a long shadow over the seventeenth century , as both a churchman and a politician who contributed to setting High Church politics on their course , but was ...
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
argued argument Astell's Bishop Cambridge Platonism Cambridge Platonists Cambridge University Press Cartesian Charles Christian Religion cited civil claim Clarendon Concerning the Love constitutional critique Damaris Damaris Masham debate Defoe Descartes Discourse Dissenters divine doctrine Drake early modern edition Ellenzweig England English feminist Filmer Folger Library freedom from domination Glorious Revolution Goldie Head in St High Church History Hobbes and Locke Hobbes's Ibid ideas Impartial Enquiry James John Locke Judith Drake king King's Head Ladies Leslie Liberty before Liberalism Locke's Two Treatises Lockean London Lord Malebranche Mary Astell Masham Milton mind Moderation Truly monarchy natural rights Norris Norris's notion occasional conformity Oxford pamphlet Parliament patriarchalism Paul's Church-yard philosophical Printed published Quentin Skinner reason reference Reflections upon Marriage religious republican rhetorical Roman Sacheverell Serious Proposal sermon Shaftesbury Short-Ways Skinner slavery social contract soul Stillingfleet theory things Thomas Hobbes tion toleration Treatises of Government Whig William women