Why we study so few women philosophers – and how to change that

How many women philosophers can you name? Despite their ideas shaping centuries of thought, women – especially those before the 20th century – are still missing from the philosophical spotlight. In this talk, Tatiana Barkovskiy, a PhD student in Philosophy at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, explores the historical obstacles that side lined their voices and considers how we can begin to bring them back into focus.

00:00 – Introduction
13:17 – Ancient women philosophers
24:28 – Medieval women philosophers
37:56 – Early modern women philosophers
45:22 – Conclusions

📚 Bibliography 📚
(1) General
Mary Ellen Waithe (ed.), “A History of Women Philosophers. Vol. I: Ancient Women Philosophers, 600 B.C. - 500 A.D.”, Kluwer Academic Publishers 1987.
Mary Ellen Waithe (ed.), “A History of Women Philosophers. Vol. II: Medieval, Renaissance and Enlightenment Women Philosophers, A.D. 500–1600”, Kluwer Academic Publishers 1989.
Mary Ellen Waithe (ed.), “A History of Women Philosophers. Vol. III: Modern Women Philosophers, 1600–1900”, Kluwer Academic Publishers 1991.
Mary Ellen Waithe (ed.), “A History of Women Philosophers. Vol. IV: Contemporary Women Philosophers, 1900–Today”, Kluwer Academic Publishers 1995.
Mary Ellen Waithe, Therese Boos Dykeman (eds.), “Women Philosophers from Non-western Traditions: The First Four Thousand Years”, Springer Cham 2024.
(2) Ancient women philosophers: https://shorturl.at/RTJDQ
(3) Medieval women philosophers: https://shorturl.at/tq6XM
(4) Early modern women philosophers: https://shorturl.at/BU6nU