- Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting
A book about women in philosophy by women in philosophy
For all the young women and girls sitting in philosophy class wondering
where the women are, this is the book for you. This collection of 21
chapters, each on a prominent woman in philosophy, looks at the impact that
women have had on the field throughout history. From Hypatia to Angela
Davis, The Philosopher Queens will be a guide to these badass
women and how their amazing ideas have changed the world.
This book is written both for newcomers to philosophy, as well as all those professors who know that they could still learn a thing or two. This book is also for those many people who have told us that there are no great women philosophers. Please pledge, read this book and then feel free to get back to us.
The two of us are young women who have studied and loved philosophy for many years. This book is borne out of frustration with the total lack of recognition for women in philosophy, not only its history but its current teaching.
Each chapter is written by a woman working in philosophy today. Our chapters and contributing authors include:
Rebecca Buxton is a PhD student in International Development at the University of Oxford,
specialising in philosophy, ethics and forced migration. Rebecca previously
studied Philosophy at King’s College London. When she’s not working on her
PhD she writes as a Community Fellow for Refugees Deeply, a news
organisation specialising in forced displacement. In her spare time Rebecca
likes to visit her one-eyed goldendoodle, Duffy, back at home in Worthing.
Lisa Whiting is currently studying for an MSc in Government, Policy and Politics following her undergraduate degree in philosophy. She studies whilst working as a policy professional focused on the intersection of policy and ethics with a particular interest in data ethics. In her spare time, she listens to podcasts, watches documentaries and tries to keep her house plants alive.
Introduction
Most people probably wouldn’t think of Plato’s Republic as a work of feminist philosophy. But when Plato proposed that women, as well as men, were capable of leading his ideal city-state, he was thinking far ahead of his time. He argued that women who were as competent as men should be chosen “to serve with them as guardians since they are capable of it and akin by nature.” These ‘Philosopher Kings’, as Plato named them, would rule over the Republic, providing perfect philosophical enlightenment.
Over two thousand years later, you would forgive people for assuming that men have been doing most of the thinking since then. Women have not seemed to fulfill Plato’s great prediction that they were able to become great philosophers. Or, at least, that is how the books and philosophy lectures today make it look. Books about the history of philosophy have not done women justice. In Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers only two women feature, with Mary Wollstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir taking the seats of honour. The same two share the limelight in Philosophy: The World’s Greatest Thinkers, which has space for fifty eight men. You’re beginning to sense a theme.
It is important to note that this gap is not due to a lack of books being published about philosophy. On the contrary, texts are being written on incredibly broad topics, such as Golf and Philosophy: Lessons from the Links, Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington, and last but certainly not least, Surfing with Sartre. And yet, very little has been written for a general audience to celebrate the work of great women, despite the amazing work being done in universities to better understand the lives and works of these women. One notable exception was a book written by a great philosopher herself, Baroness Mary Warnock (Chapter 15), who wrote Women in Philosophy over 20 years ago.
The Philosopher Queens: The Representation of Women Philosophers
Tuesday, 7 May 2019
Today we’re very excited to be speaking at the University of Bristol about The Philosopher Queens and the representation of women in philosophy. The first half of the talk looks at data on women and minorities in philosophy, so we thought we would share with you some of the shocking statistics that we found!
- In the UK women make up only 29.7% of academic staff in philosophy. That’s less than…
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The Philosopher Queens: International Women's Day 2019
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
This week we're celebrating International Women's Day! Any new supporters can get 10% off their pledge by using the promo code IWD19 at the checkout.
But we also wanted to give our amazing supporters a little something extra. As you know, we've commissioned an illustration for each chapter of the book. We're very happy to be able to share a sneak peek.
So here are the first drafts of Ban Zhao…
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The Philosopher Queens: Manuscript Submission
Sunday, 3 February 2019
It's been nearly a whole year since Lisa first went looking for an introduction to women in philosophy. Over an angry Twitter rant and tea (how we come up with most of our good ideas), we decided to do it ourselves.
Today, we submitted the full manuscript of The Philosopher Queens.
This book has been written by some incredible women that we have had the absolute privilege of working…
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The Philosopher Queens: December Update
Saturday, 1 December 2018
Since The Philosopher Queens hit its crowdfunding target in October, you’re probably wondering what we’ve been up to. Needless to say, it’s been a very busy few months.
With the two of us beginning a PhD and a Masters Degree, we’ve been working as hard as we can on the book in any spare time we can find. We’ve now received over half of the chapters from our amazing authors, and most are ready for…
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The Philosopher Queens: 100%! What Happens Now?
Thursday, 11 October 2018
On Monday morning, at around 9am, The Philosopher Queens reached its crowdfunding target. After only three weeks of spamming you on Twitter, sending hundreds of emails, and generally shouting the news from the hilltops, we now know that this book will be published. The two of us want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the last few weeks and months. We are so humbled…
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The Philosopher Queens: Week Two, Chapter Announcement and 80%!
Wednesday, 3 October 2018
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, so we wanted to take a moment to update you on what’s been happening with The Philosopher Queens. First, a huge thank you to our new supporters (there are now 552 of you!). We are overwhelmed by your generosity in helping us reach the 80% milestone. A special shout-out to Corey Mohler from Existential Comics for publicly supporting the project and helping…
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The Philosopher Queens: Week One Complete!
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
We wanted to send a quick update to thank you all for your support in our first week of crowdfunding. We reached 30% last night, just before the one week mark, and we couldn’t be happier.
We’ve also had so many pledges from around the world, particularly Canada and New Zealand which is very exciting. We’re not quite sure what happened at the University of Calgary but we have so many supporters…
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The Philosopher Queens: We have a little announcement for you…
Friday, 21 September 2018
Thank you so much to everyone who has pledged so far and shown their support for the book. We never imagined reaching 20% within the first week and it gives us hope that so many people want this book to exist as much as we do. Please do continue to post and share as much as you can!
Now with the emotional stuff out of the way, we have an exciting announcement for you. Not only is our book written…
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These people are helping to fund The Philosopher Queens.
If you could have a dinner party and you could invite three of the philosophers from your book, who would you invite?
Thank you for your question, Flo! My invites would definitely go to Hannah Arendt, Azizah Y. al-Hibri and Angela Davis. Although I would love a dinner party with all 21!
Hi, I'm really keen to pledge for this, but because I'm currently in the US, the shipping costs are quite high. Are there any plans to include an E-book tier? I would love to pledge for that. Thanks!
Thank you for your question and interest in the book Saurabh! Now we have reached 100% funded, we have introduced an ebook only tier to help make the book more accessible to those living in other countries. We hope you enjoy
When is the book expected to be shipped please?
Hi Axelle, thanks for the question. The book only goes into production after we reach the crowdfunding target. So it usually takes at least a year before the book is finished and ready to be published. We're currently aiming for March 2020, although of course, that could change!
Any chance of an ebook only tier for those of us who just don't do physical books any more (and are on rather limited budgets)?
Hi Lesley, thank you so much for your question! Now we have reached 100%, we've introduced a new ebook pledge level to help with the tight budgets and shipping costs
Can I pledge the money as a gift to someone else, i.e. where the friend's name will be in the book?
Thank you for your question Alex! In short - yes. A full answer on how to do this can be found here http://help.unbound.com/unbound-for-readers/managing-your-subscriptions/changing-the-supporter-name-thats-printed-in-a-book
What peer review process will this work undergo?
Hi Clare, thank you for your question! As this is not an academic journal we do not have a formal peer review process. The book is aimed at a general audience and is not an academic volume. Each chapter will be fact-checked thoroughly by ourselves and our writers who are all excellent and highly qualified. I hope this helps.
Hello! I saw on your twitter that there are only a few days left to pledge. I've been trying to persuade my school to pledge since the start of this month. I may actually be getting somewhere with them now - but how long do I have left? I'm trying to get them to pledge for the 'Philosophy Talks' in particular.
Thanks,
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, Thanks so much for your question. It's only the IndieGogo page that closes in the next few days. You'll be able to pledge on this page until this book goes to print in about a year. We'd love to come to talk at your school - let us know if we can be any help!
Rebecca