History of Women Philosophers and Scientists

About the Entanglements of Life
2025-03-03 16:30 - 18:30 (Europe/Berlin) | TU Dresden/ZOOM
Inputtalk zur regulären stattfindenden Veranstaltung Pillars & Umbrellas des Gleichstellungsprogramms der Technischen Universität Dresden. Im Rahmen der Veranstaltungsreihe findet am kommenden Montag 3. März 2025 ein DIALOGUE – Format der Kolloquiumsreihe statt. Es handelt sich dabei um den vierten Teil der Kolloquiumsreihe mit dem Thema Reshape Reality – Questioning Claims of Neutrality for Inclusive TechnoFutures, bei dem unser Kollege Felix Grewe einen Inputtalk zu Donna J. Haraway halten wird.
Der Titel des Talks lautet: About the Entanglements of Life – Donna J. Haraway and her theories on becoming with/kinship
Mehr Informationen zur Veranstaltung können auf der Seite der TU Dresden abgerufen werden.

New Voices Winter 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-02-26 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Amanda J. Favia (Nassau Community College): What’s Self-love Got to Do with it? E.E. Constance Jones on the Deduction of Prudence from Benevolence
E. E. (Emily Elizabeth) Constance Jones (1848-1922) was a prominent figure in British philosophy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries known primarily for her work in philosophical logic. Jones, however, also made important contributions to ethics and moral psychology. This talk will focus on one of those contributions—Jones’s response to Sidgwick’s “dualism of practical reason”, a problem that Sidgwick never resolved to his own satisfaction. Sidgwick held that practical reason has an allegiance to two distinct ‘methods’: self-love (prudence) and benevolence (duty to others). While both methods are independently rational, they may potentially come into conflict. This, for Jones, presented “the most important difficulty of the system of [Sidgwick’s] Universalistic Hedonism”. As such, she returned to this problem a number of times in the course of her career producing several original and promising responses. In two of her most promising responses—what I will call the Argument from Temporal Irrelevance and the Argument from Mutual Dependency—Jones attempts to demonstrate a necessary connection between self-love and benevolence that subverts the problematic dualism. Ultimately, there is no actual conflict of methods, only an appearance of one. After a close analysis of these two arguments, I will consider some challenges to her view and argue that even if her arguments are not entirely successful in resolving the “dualism of practical reason”, they succeed in changing the course of the debate.

New Voices Winter 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-02-19 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Julia Franke-Reddig (University of Siegen and Université de Genève): Ilse (Rosenthal-)Schneider and Einstein on Kantian Philosophy
The name Ilse (Rosenthal-)Schneider is not well known today. However, she was a promising student of Albert Einstein, Max von Laue, and Alois Riehl, publishing her dissertation on the space-time problem in the context of Kant and Einstein with Springer in 1921. Although prominent philosophers like Moritz Schlick and Hans Reichenbach harshly criticized her interpretation of the relationship between transcendental philosophy and the theory of relativity, Einstein himself supported Schneider’s work, even after her exile to Australia in 1938.
In Australia, she never obtained a professorship but remained actively engaged in research and university life. Notably, she later became a key figure in the foundation of Australian philosophy of science. Systematically, Schneider advocated for a Neo-Kantian view, arguing that transcendental philosophy was compatible with the general theory of relativity. While I do not aim to determine whether her interpretation was correct, it is worth noting that Einstein—though not a philosopher and unfamiliar with Kantian philosophy—has often been associated with philosophical interpretations of relativity theory, particularly by thinkers who reject a transcendental perspective.
As Klaus Hentschel pointed out, Einstein evolved from being a conventionalist in 1917 to adopting a philosophical realist stance in later years. This evolution makes Schneider’s perspective on the philosophical interpretation of relativity theory particularly intriguing. She maintained close correspondence and professional exchange with Einstein until the end of his life.
In my talk, I will reconstruct Schneider’s position on the relationship between Kantian philosophy and relativity theory and compare it to Einstein’s comments on the subject. This analysis aims to propose an approach or an initial framework for a better understanding Einstein’s position regarding the philosophical implications of his theory.

New Voices Winter 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-02-12 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Suki Finn (Royal Holloway University of London): Thinking (About Stebbing) To Some (Feminist) Purpose
Susan Stebbing’s popular book, Thinking To Some Purpose, was first published in 1939, went out of print for many decades, and was finally republished in 2022. The relevance of and need for the book is as pertinent now as it was when it was written. This paper outlines its applicability to the contemporary political setting and positions it as a feminist text. As such, I think about Stebbing to some purpose, namely, some feminist purpose, and argue that this gives purpose to Thinking To Some Purpose in present times. Gillian Russell (2024) has deemed Thinking To Some Purpose to be feminist insofar as it can be utilised to serve feminist ends; Sophia M. Connell and Frederique Janssen-Lauret (2023) take Stebbing’s work to exemplify and promote epistemic virtues that one could take to be feminist; Bryan Pickel (2022) highlights Stebbing’s holistic view of thought that incorporates a persons social situation, which is reminiscent of feminist epistemology. I agree on all of these accounts and find further evidence to paint a feminist picture of Stebbing, arguing for the rightful place of Thinking To Some Purpose as a crucial book for and of feminism, inside and outside of academic philosophy.

Mensch, Maschine, Muse. Wie die digitale Zukunft durch humanistische Werte prosperiert
2025-02-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Theater Paderborn, Neuer Platz 6, Paderborn, 33098, Germany
Mensch, Maschine, Muse. Wie die digitale Zukunft durch humanistische Werte prosperiert
Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Ruth Edith Hagengruber im Rahmen der Vortragsreihe Kreative Intelligenz – Kulturschaffen in Zeiten von KI. Im Anschluss findet eine Gesprächsrunde mit Ruth Edith Hagengruber, Axel Berndt, Julia Eckel, Patrick Hübner, Karsten Strack und Jennifer Becker statt. Die Veranstaltung wird moderiert von Lena Kern.
Donnerstag 6. Februar 2025, 18:00
Theater Paderborn
Neuer Platz 6
33098 Paderborn

New Voices Winter 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-02-05 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Giulia Felappi, (University of Southampton): “There is no reason for the necessity of the ultimate principles of deduction.” Margaret MacDonald on Logical Necessity.
This talks aims at contributing to the recent enterprise of rediscovering Margaret MacDonald’s views, by focusing on her reflections on the necessity of logic, a theme that runs through many of her papers and reviews. As it has been noted, MacDonald was profoundly influenced by Peirce, the Vienna Circle’s positivists, Stebbing and Wittgenstein, in particular the one of the lectures he delivered in the mid 1930s in Cambridge. Those authors surely form the background against which she developed her own views on the necessity of logic. But in this paper we will not aim at discussing her claims to detect those influences. Rather, we will focus on MacDonald’s claims themselves, and the reasons she put forward to support them. We will see both MacDonald’s negative views about what the necessity of logic is not (§1), and her positive view about what it is and how it supports her claim that it is in fact irrational to ask for a reason for the necessity of logic (§2). We will conclude by considering what she would reply now to defenders of dialethism and paraconsistent logics, to better show how her view on the necessity of logic is different from others, such as David Lewis’s (§3).

Research Colloquium - Inken Schmidt-Voges & Sina Menke
2025-02-03 16:00 - 18:00 | Technologiepark 21, Universität Paderborn, 33100, Germany
Prof. Dr. Inken Schmidt-Voges (Universität Marburg) and Sina Menke will present their Research. More information coming soon.

Research Colloquium - Andreas Vrahimis
2025-01-27 16:00 - 18:00 | Technologiepark 21, Universität Paderborn, 33100, Germany
Talk by Dr. Andreas Vrahimis (University of Cyprus). More Information coming soon.

African Feminist Theories
2025-01-24 - 2025-01-25 | Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, Paderborn, NRW, 33098, Germany
Workshop African Feminist Theories organised and held by Ana Paula Coelho Rodrigues (Paderborn University/Center HWPS) in cooperation with Dr. Taleb Eli (Skyline University College UAE).
This three-day workshop provides an introduction to the theoretical production of African feminism.
The first day (December 6, 2024) is dedicated to the development of African feminist thought from the critique of white, Western feminism and its special relationship to postcolonial approaches, black feminism and intersectionalism.
On the second day (January 24, 2025), participants will be introduced to the most important representatives, key works and central positions such as Womanism, Stiwanism, Nego-Feminism and Africana-Womanism.
The third day (January 25, 2025) of the block seminar consists of a workshop with a guest lecturer from Mauritania, Dr. Eli Taleb, and will therefore be held in English. In terms of content, Dr. Taleb will set his own – yet to be announced – priorities.
A registration is required. Please contact Ana Paula Coelho Rodrigues.

New Voices 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-01-22 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Peter West (Northestern University, London): Dorothy Emmet’s Moral Philosophy
Dorothy Emmet (1904-2000) was only the second woman in Britain to be a Professor of Philosophy, when she was appointed to the position at Manchester University in 1946. She succeeded Susan Stebbing and, like Stebbing, was the only woman in Britain to be a Professor of Philosophy upon her appointment (Stebbing died in 1943). There is currently almost no secondary literature on Emmet (West 2023 is an exception) and virtually no scholarship on her moral philosophy (aside from Larry Blum’s recent discussions of Emmet in connection to the Wartime Quartet).
Yet, Emmet’s work in moral philosophy makes for fascinating reading. As a student in Oxford she studied under A. D. Lindsay and, like Lindsay, felt almost immediately disillusioned by the moral philosophy she saw taking place around her, which seemed too abstract and detached from the real world. Emmet’s intuitions were further cemented during her summers as a student which she spent teaching Plato’s Republic to miners in Wales. In 1966, she published Rules, Roles and Relations. The central thesis of the text is that moral philosophy should draw on the insights of sociology. Sociology, Emmet argues, informs us that human relations and interactions are too complex and ‘intermingled’ to be subjected to the kind of abstract analysis that moral philosophers typically employ. In particular, Emmet argues that the roles we play in a society (roles like mother, sister, colleague, police officer, teacher, member of parliament, and so on) have a deep influence on the kinds of actions we perform and the morality of those actions.
In this paper, I will reconstruct Emmet’s approach to moral philosophy. I will also argue that, like Stebbing and (afterwards) members of the Wartime Quartet, Emmet felt that modern moral philosophy should take inspiration from Aristotle. Instead of focusing on linguistic analysis of terms like ‘good’ and on atomistic conceptions of interactions between agents, moral philosophy should focus on our character traits, virtues (or what Emmet calls ‘excellences’), and on our ways of living.

New Voices Winter 2025: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy and Philosophy of Science
2025-01-15 16:30 - 18:00
Dr. Andreas Vrahimis (University of Cyprus): Stebbing’s critique of Schiller’s pragmatism
Whereas early criticisms of pragmatist theories of truth by analytic philosophers like Russell and G.E. Moore are well known, and helped shape the ongoing debates on this topic, L. Susan Stebbing’s significant contributions to the debate have hitherto largely been ignored. At the outset of her career, Stebbing became embroiled in a controversy with F.C.S. Schiller, spanning multiple publications, in which she objected against his variant of the pragmatist account of truth. As Chapman notes, the debate is somewhat abstruse and ‘does not make very satisfactory reading’ (2013, 30). It involves multiple forms of miscommunication, largely due to Schiller’s failure, throughout the debate, to acknowledge the significance of some of Stebbing’s arguments. In this paper, I reconstruct the debate in a manner that clarifies the arguments on either side. I thereby re-evaluate the debate’s significance for understanding the development of Stebbing’s views and their position within the history of analytic philosophy’s early critical encounters with pragmatism. At stake in the debate is, primarily, the question whether the pragmatist tenet ‘all that is true works’ is logically convertible into the obverse claim that ‘all that works is true’. I demonstrate that this question originates in Moore’s prior objections against William James’ theory of truth. The debate is prompted by Schiller’s reply to Moore, in which he rejects that the pragmatist theory of truth entails this convertibility. He does this by attempting to account for falsehoods that work. In developing a series of detailed objections, Stebbing aims to demonstrate Schiller’s response to Moore to be inadequate. I show that, contrary to what has been commonly assumed in the recent scholarly literature, Stebbing’s (qualified) defence of Moorean theses began already at the outset of her career. In his multiple responses to Stebbing, Schiller ends up denying that pragmatism upholds a criterion for truth, but claims it only involves a specific view of confirmation. I argue that, once the misunderstandings are cleared away, the debate can be shown to have ended prematurely, with a number of challenges posed by Stebbing left unanswered by Schiller’s confirmationism.

Anniversary of Émilie Du Châtelet: Paris Manuscript bnf Nr. 12265 - the complete online presentation
2024-12-17 | Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, Paderborn, 33098, Germany
Anniversary of Émilie Du Châtelet:
Émilie Du Châtelet
Paris Manuscript bnf Nr. 12265 – the complete online presentation.

More information coming soon

Workshop Women’s Cultural Heritage
2024-12-06 | Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
More information coming soon.

ECO_TECH_GENDER / Women Philosophers Heritage
2024-11-29 | Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Dehli, K-70B, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi 110016, India
Workshop ECO_TECH_GENDER / Women Philosophers Heritage
Organized by the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Sci-entists with the organisational Support from FES, New Delhi

Workshop Program (preliminary)
November 28, 2024 (FES, New Delhi)
10.00 Welcome Ruth Edith Hagengruber, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists/ Research Director EcoTechGender teaching and research area, Paderborn University: The Center HWPS and the ECO_TECH_GENDER Research Activities
Economics, Ecology, Technology – The Topics of the Future And Women Philosophers Responsibility
11.00 Ma. Theresa T. Payongayong, PhD; University of the Philippines System Professor, Department of Philosophy; College of Social Science and Philosophy; Uni-versity of the Philippines Diliman: Ecotechgender: A Methodologically Framed and Implemented Research Tool. Its Philosophical, Political and Social Impact
12.00 Jeanette L. Yasol-Naval. Professor, Department of Philosophy, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman: Applied Ethics and the Philosophy of Food in Environmental Discourse
Lunch break
14.30 Asha Mukherjee (by zoom) Professor of Philosophy, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, President of the Commission of Ethics; FISP member of the Steering Committee; and Gender committee of the Federation International des Societés Philosophiques: Women and Environmental Issues in Tomorrows Concepts of Indian Politics
15.30 t.b.c. Collective for Women Philosophers in India: Professor Richa Shukla Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneshwar India, Professor Mansi Rathour OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat India; Professor Muzaffar Ali, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune India: Women and Indian Thought: Ancient, Modern and Contemporary. Retriev-ing the Heritage of Philippine Women Thinkers
Dinner
November 29, 2024 (FES, New Delhi)
10.00 Building up: ECO_TECH_GENDER Series

Call for Interferences - Act up/Building up: EcoTechGender Action Group
2024-11-15 09:15 - 18:00 | Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, Paderborn, NRW, 33098, Germany
The era of strictly demarcated sciences is over, at least since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, changing social values, modern technologies, but also scientific misconduct and demands for emancipation based on diversity have led to the fact that science has become a multidisciplinary but also increasingly interwoven institution since at least the second half of the 20th century. The present bias is particularly evident in the institutionalization of knowledge and content from the humanities and the natural sciences and technology, which are in part still strictly separated and not automatically related to each other. This lack of contextualization and intertwining of nature, culture, technology, society, and gender theory can be illustrated by a number of problematic examples: Crash test dummies that only represent men and make cars all the more unsafe for women; toxic cultures of masculinity in engineering courses that make it almost impossible for women to build careers and reveal a serious lack of female role models; racist or sexist algorithms that overwhelm the increasingly important AI and fuel resentment; or supposedly glorious inventions by men for women, such as the Pinky Gloves released in 2021, that reveal a sometimes disastrous picture of gender stereotyping. All these examples clearly show that there is an urgent need to link the cultural sciences and humanities, which have been strictly separated, with the natural, technical, information and engineering sciences. However, these experiences also show how strong the influences of social, political, economic and societal factors are, which also have an unconscious effect on the natural and technical sciences and their results. This modern change therefore confirms all the more the establishment of an interlocking perspective and instructions for action for the scientific enterprise. An appropriate culture/expansion of discourse makes it possible to show how research in the natural, technical, information, and engineering sciences can be seen and evaluated in a multiple and constantly changing world in the context of society, politics, the environment, technology, and gender. Science is no longer a homogeneous and awe-inspiring entity that can sustain itself. It is increasingly criticized and confronted with demands to open up and to represent all aspects of social life in an interconnected way. There is therefore a need for other interfaces and interconnections that drive this world of research, transform it, make it usable, and build it in a future-oriented way. This particular entanglement has always been explored in the EcoTechGender research project (est. 2007 by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber).
In the context of a workshop, we would like to emphasize this importance once again, work it out together, and offer space for a philosophical-interdisciplinary workshop and discourse in which young scientists can present their visions and contributions to the entanglement field of EcoTechGender. In addition to invited speakers, lecture slots will be advertised in order to provide a platform for exchange for interested young scientists. The aim of the workshop is to present different perspectives on EcoTechGender from young scholars from different academic disciplines to show the interferences of humanities, social sciences, science and technology studies, medicine and computer science.
The workshop will be introduced by our Keynoter Kateryna Karpenko, Director of the Center for Gender Studies at Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine. Afterwards, we will have the opportunity to follow and listen to several different PhD students from STEM fields, STS-Studies, medicine, gender studies and philosophy, who will present their views and ideas on EcoTechGender. For more inspiration have a look at our program.
The Workshop will take place on November 15, 2024 at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists as online event. For participation please register via our registration platform.
The workshop is organized by Ruth E. Hagengruber & Felix Grewe.

For further questions please contact: ecotechgender@historyofwomenphilosophers.org

The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists - Fachmesse des 2. Gleichstellungstags der Bundesstiftung Gleichstellung Berlin
2024-11-05 09:00 - 18:00 | Berlin Congress Center, Alexanderstr. 11, Berlin, Germany
Das Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists wird am 5. November 2024 im Rahmen des 2. Gleichstellungstages der Bundesstiftung Gleichstellung auf der Fachmesse im Berliner Congress Center vertreten sein.
Als internationaler Forschungshub, gegründet 2016 von Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber mit Unterstützung der damaligen Ministerin für Wissenschaft und Innovation des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen Svenja Schulze, setzt sich das Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists dafür ein, das immaterielle Kulturerbe der Philosophinnen und Wissenschaftlerinnen zu sammeln und zu erforschen. Im Rahmen von zahlreichen Forschungsprojekten mit internationalen Kooperationspartnern besuchen uns Forschungsfellows aus aller Welt, um gemeinsam in Sommer Schools, Workshops und Konferenzen die Geschichte neu zu schreiben. Etabliert wird diese Neuschreibung durch internationale Publikationen (Springer, Brill, De Gruyter) und durch die Förderung des internationalen Forschungsnachwuchses (New Voices Netzwerk).
Mehr Informationen zum 2. Gleichstellungstag der Bundesstiftung Gleichstellung oder unserem Stand auf der Fachmesse finden Sie hier.

Research Colloquium - Viktorya Vasilyan: Women Image in the History of Armenia
2024-10-28 16:00 - 18:00 | Technologiepark 21, Universität Paderborn, 33100, Germany
Dr. Viktorya Vasilyan (National Academia of Science of the Republic of Armenia) will introduce her work on History of Women Philosophers and Scientists in a special perspective of the history of Armenia. Her talk Women image in the History of Armenia will introduce us into this very exciting topic and we lookforward to her presentation.
Dr. Viktorya Vasilyan is lecturer at the Traditional Medicine University of Armenia and Head of the Scientific Organizational Department in the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography at the National Academia of Science of the Republic of Armenia.
The talk of Viktorya Vasilyan is our first talk within this winter terms Research Colloquium.
Everybody is welcome to attend.
Venue: TP21.2.32, Technologiepark 21
Date: October 28, 2024
Time: 16:00

Networking meeting of members and friends of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Philosophers
2024-09-24 18:00 - 19:00 | University of Münster
Tuesday 24.09.2024, 18:00 – 19:00 Networking meeting of members and friends of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Philosophers (Room F)

AG DG Phil/IAPh Panel XXVI. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie 24.09.2024
2024-09-24 09:00 - 11:00 | University of Münster
Dear members of the working group, dear members of the IAPH, dear interested Scholars,
I would like to cordially invite you to the activities planned by the Working Group on Women in the History of Philosophy within the framework of this year’s congress of the German Society of Philosophy.
As was the case three years ago, our activities will be coordinated with the group of the International Association of Women Philosophers (IAPH).
On Tuesday, 24. September, from 9 to 11 a panel (F2) of the Working Group on Women in the History of Philosophy and the IAPH will take place.
On Tuesday, 24. September, 6 pm (room F234) we cordially invite you to a network meeting.
We would be delighted if you came to see the activities of the AG. Plans will be made, ideas will be found and common projects will be realised. Please make a note of the AG’s annual conference, which will take place on 11-12 April. April 2025 with the working title: Philosophers on Economy, Politics and Society.
The events are open to all interested parties. Feel free to write to me if you have any questions.
Detailed programme:
The AG Women in the History of Philosophy (*2017)
https://www.dgphil.de/ags/allgemein/frauen-in-der-geschichte-der-philosophie
The study of the history of women philosophers has developed into an important area of critical research in the history of philosophy. The Working Group in the German Society for Philosophy is a place of exchange and information on the history of women philosophers. Research and teaching are given equal consideration. Numerous workshops and conferences, online and in person, invite us to share and expand our knowledge.
The meetings offer the opportunity to meet members, active researchers and teachers, to network and to plan joint activities.
Within the framework of this year’s Philosophy Congress in Münster: #Digital Thinking, the theme is also reflected in the topics of the speakers.
Tuesday 24.09.2024, 9:00 – 11:00 FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL – Panel of the Panel of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Women Philosophers (Room F2)
Ursula Martin: Mary Somerville and Ada Lovelace: networks in the making of nineteenth-century British science
Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a bestselling Scottish writer on science and mathematics: the English aristocrat Ada Lovelace (1815-1853) published an article on computing that now seems remarkably prescient. Self-taught, both were excluded from universities and scientific institutions such as London’s Royal Society. Today, their work is often described as ‘translations’ and ‘popular scientific writing’, reflecting and reinforcing their seemingly marginal position. Yet both were fluent in several languages and were active members of British and European scientific networks of men and women who corresponded, exchanged visits and read each other’s work. Their writings deserve to be seen as mainstream contributions to nineteenth-century scientific discussions.
Biography: Ursula Martin is Professor Emerita of the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. A distinguished researcher at the interface of mathematics and computer science, she has published widely on the use of computation and artificial intelligence in mathematical proof and its wider implications for mathematical practice. She led the first examination of Ada Lovelace’s mathematical archive and is the author of a popular book on Lovelace. In recent years she has worked closely with Oxford libraries and museums to find new ways of telling the story of the origins of computing and AI.
Sabine Thürmel: Current Developments in Computer Science from the Perspective of Women in the Humanities
Curiositas mater sapientiae est (Roman proverb: curiosity is the mother of wisdom): this is especially true for female humanities scholars assessing current developments in computer science. Each of the scholars presented in this lecture has developed a unique perspective and a specific approach. The depth and timeliness of their contributions will be demonstrated by focusing on their work on generative AI and their publications in 2023 and 2024.
Sabine Thuermel is an independent researcher and lecturer at the Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany. Her background is in both computer science (Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1989) and philosophy (Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science and Technology in 2013). An overview of her interdisciplinary work on the foundations and effects of culture-changing information technologies can be found on her website http://www.sabinethuermel.de/, where computer science meets philosophy.
Pedro Pricladnitzky Philosophical Connections: Exploring the Digitisation of Brazilian Women Philosophers from Paderborn to Brazil”.
This paper explores the digitisation of Brazilian women philosophers, highlighting their philosophical contributions and historical significance. It examines how digital platforms preserve and disseminate their work, addressing their underrepresentation in philosophy. The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists plays a crucial role in providing a framework for digitisation and preservation, thus facilitating the integration of these philosophers into the global canon.
Pedro Pricladnitzky is a researcher at the Centre for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists at the University of Paderborn. His work focuses on the critical digital edition of Émilie du Châtelet’s Institutions de Physique and their integration into early modern natural philosophy. He is also interested in Brazilian and Latin American women writers in the history of philosophy.
IAPH Cristina Sánchez Muñoz: Political Violence and Gender. Exclusions, Reductions and Challenges
In this paper I will analyse the role that violence against women plays in the very definition of politics. We will focus on the violence against women that takes place in war scenarios, with a particular emphasis on sexual violence. Several philosophers have worked on this issue (Brownmiller, Schott, MacKinnon, Card, Copelon among others). I will use Kate Millet’s work Sexual Politics as a frame of reference to analyse a sexual politics of wars as political violence. This will allow us to identify the main features of contemporary wars in which violence against women plays a central role as a political objective. I will present the main debates that have taken place in contemporary feminist theory on this issue and the changes that have occurred both in the perception of armed conflicts and in the legal responses to sexual violence.
Cristina Sánchez is Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. In her academic career she has developed two lines of research: On the one hand, the study of Hannah Arendt’s thought, and on the other hand, contemporary feminist theory and women’s citizenship, within the framework of political philosophy. She has been a visiting scholar in Chile, Colombia and Mexico. She is Co-Speaker of the IAPH, Unesco Chair in Public Policies and Gender at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and member of the jury of the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Tuesday 24.09.2024, 18:00 – 19:00 Networking meeting of members and friends of the DGPhil AG Women in the History of Philosophy and the International Association of Philosophers (Room F)
With kind regards,
Ruth E. Hagengruber
Director of the AG Women in the History of Philosophy and Director of the International Association of Women Philosophers

DGPhil Congress 2024: Forum 23.09.2024
2024-09-23 12:30 - 13:15 | University of Münster
On Monday, 23.09.2024 at 12.30-13.15, PHIL 201, the Center Team will present the Digital Projects of the Center, such as the Manuscripts work, the ECC, the Directory, the Philosophy goes MOOC and a lot more. Join us to discover the hidden figures in Philosophy and the thrilling digital work we are doing.
Chair of the session: Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber:
The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists as a Digital Humanities Project, with Jil Muller, Pedro Pricladnitzky and Felix Grewe (Paderborn).

FISP IAPH: Women Philosophers in Academia: Achievements, Obstacles and Challenges
2024-08-07 17:00 - 19:00 | CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula 302, Rome
7. August 17.00-19.00, CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula 302: Ruth: Women Philosophers in Academia (IAPh)
More information here.

FISP: Round Table - Eco-, Health-Feminism
2024-08-07 13:00 - 15:00 | CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula “Falcone e Borsellino”, Rome
Round Table #2 Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists: Eco-, Health-Feminism
Wednesday 07 August 13:00-15:00, CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula “Falcone e Borsellino”
13:00-13:30 Kateryna Karpenko (Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine): Eco-cide and -feminism in Ukraine
13:30-14:00 Jil Muller (Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Luxembourg/Germany): Women and Their Body
14:00-14:30 Clara Mavellia (Cultural Entrepreneurship Institute Berlin, Italy/Germany): Health Body, Healthy Planet: A Plea for a Meditarranea or Epistemic Injustice
14:30- 15:00 Felix Grewe (Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Germany): Donna J. Haraways Concept of Storytelling as an Ecofeminist Perspective: Cyborgs, OncoMouse and Sympoiesis
More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

FISP: 50 years of the Association Internationale des Professeurs de Philosophie: Past and Future
2024-08-05 17:00 - 19:00 | CU003 Lettera e Filosofia, Aula XII, Rome
5. August 17.00-19.00, CU003 Lettera e Filosofia, Aula XII: Ruth Edith Hagengruber: The Actuality of Teaching Hannah Arendt: The Origins of Totalitarianism, Association internationale des Professeurs de philosophie. Chaired by Riccardo Pozzo
Flyer -Society Session: 50 Years, Past and Present Association Internationale De Professeurs de Philosophie

More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

FISP: Round Table - Non Western Women Philosophers
2024-08-05 17:00 - 19:00 | CU003 Lettera e Filosofia, Aula XII, Rome
Round Table #1 Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists:
Monday 5 August 2024, CU003 Lettera e Filosofia, Aula XII, Time: 17:00- 19:00
17:00 – 17.30 Krissah Marga Taganas (Philippines): Empowering Mothers: Feminist Theorizing on Motherhood”.
17:30 – 18.00 Piergiacomo Severini (Japan/Italy): Women in the Non-Western Philosophy – ethical category of “distinction” in Jeanne Hersch and Kitarou Nishida
18.00 – 18.30 Pedro Pricladnitzky (Brasil / Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists): Nisia Floresta, A Brasilian Philosopher
18:30 – 19.00 Ruth Edith Hagengruber, Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists Award Ceremony: Elisabeth of Bohemia Prize (donated by Ulrike Detmers)
The winner of the Elisabeth of Bohemia Prize 2024 will be announced; the speeches of honour will be held by: Mary Ellen Waithe and Cris Sanchez.
More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

FISP Invited Symposium: Women in the History of Philosophy
2024-08-03 17:00 - 19:00 | CAMPUS SAPIENZA, AULA MAGNA, Rome
3. AUGUST 17.00-19.00, CAMPUS SAPIENZA, AULA MAGNA: SYMPOSIUM ON WOMEN IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
Chair: Ruth Edith Hagengruber
Thanks to the president of the FISP, Luca Scarantino, and his board. For the first time in the history of FISP, and indeed for the first time in the entire history of FISP, this history of women philosophers is being placed at the centre of attention.
We realise that this is something completely new, at a time when women are still vastly underrepresented in many national philosophical societies and when no effort has yet been made to reconstruct the history of women philosophers at the national level. We are delighted that we can now do this here and together at an international level.
In addition to all the exclusions that have been practised in the history of philosophy and by its actors, sometimes consciously, the exclusion of women philosophers is nothing other than the act of a one-sided sexist practice. However, the history of philosophy of women philosophers is so rich and their knowledge so necessary for this world. It fills all areas of knowledge and it gives us a new idea of seeing philosophy.
It is an honour for me to stand here with these colleagues who have enriched the world of women philosophers. I thank my colleagues Marie Pauline Eboh, Heisook Kim and Mary Ellen Waithe for rewriting this history of women philosophers with me.

17:00-17:30 Marie Pauline Eboh: Unmute Herstory

17:30-18:00 Ruth Hagengruber: 1000 Places in 1 World. How women philosophers are changing the way we see the world and understand its history.

18:00-18:30 Heisook Kim: Sublimated Revolts against Patriarchal Order: the case of two women intellectuals in the Confucian history of Korea

18:30-19:00 Mary Ellen Waithe: A New Dawn For Philosophy? The Case for En Hedu’Anna of Mesopotamia, 2300 BCE

FISP: Adding Voices to the Philosophy Curriculum
2024-08-02 17:00 - 19:00 | CU001 Rettorato, Aula Organi Collegiali, Rome
2. August 17.00-19.00, CU001 Rettorato, Aula Organi Collegiali: Ruth Edith Hagengruber: Adding Voices to the Philosophy Curriculum. The talk is part of an invited session hosted by Floris Velema.
Teaching Hypotheses with Émilie Du Châtelet by Ruth Edith Hagengruber
Abstract
The philosopher Emilie du Chatelet (1706-1749) was one of the most successful writers on philosophy and science of her time. Her texts were translated into several languages during her lifetime, which demonstrates the international appeal of her work. She can certainly be considered an innovator in philosophy and science. This achievement can be emphasised in the classroom by interpreting the chapter On Hypotheses, from her main work, the Institutions of Physics.
The exclusion of this impacting text from the history of philosophy delivers not only another proof of the unjustified elimination of women’s contributions, but also illustrates the loss and the failings of that history and its reception as well as demonstrating the interest-based nature of philosophical criteria applied up to our days.
Ruth Hagengruber on Teaching Hypotheses

More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

FISP: History of Philosophy and the Biopolitical Crisis
2024-08-02 13:00 - 19:00 | CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula “Francesco Calasso”, Rome
2. August 13.00-19.00, CU002 Giurisprudenza, Aula “Francesco Calasso”: Ruth Edith Hagengruber: Biopolitics: Erasing the Voices of Women Philosophers. The talk is part of an invited session hosted by Riccardo Pozzo.
In the 1990s, feminist critics pointed out that Foucault’s implicit androcentrism blinds this theory to the question of women: the categories of the philosophical field of biopolitics are and were not uncontroversial in feminist philosophy. This has largely been forgotten today, as feminists and political scientists, as well as representatives of the sociological interpretation of society, use the concepts introduced into the discussion by Foucault to operationalise their own content. The lecture will discuss the relationship between how these categories and operative processes were arrived at, what discourse they come from and where they are carried. It will also show the gaps in interpretation.
More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

FISP: Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy: Wilma Papst’s Reception of Frege.
2024-08-02 09:20 - 09:40 | CU009, Geologia e Mineralogia, Aula 14, Rome
On the 2. August at 09.20-09.40 in CU009, Geologia e Mineralogia, Aula 14 our Fellow Michele Vagnetti will present a paper on Women in the History of Analytic Philosophy: Wilma Papst’s Reception of Frege.
More information on the Center activities at the FISP 2024 can be found here.

Workshop on Mind, Consciousness and Perception in Cavendish
2024-07-25 - 2024-07-26 | per Zoom
We are pleased to announce an upcoming online workshop on “Cavendish: Mind, Consciousness and Perception,” which will be held on 25 and 26 July, 2024. The workshop is organized by Pedro Pricladnitzky and Aaron Wells. Invited speakers:
Colin Chamberlain (University College London)
Marcy Lascano (University of Kansas)
Alison Peterman (University of Rochester
Jonathan Shaheen (University of Uppsala)
Submitted talks:
Olivia Branscum (University of Oklahoma)
Jan Forsman (University of Iowa)
Kevin Lower (Villanova University)
Milena Monteiro Rodrigues (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)
This workshop aims to explore the philosophical perspectives of Margaret Cavendish regarding the nature of the mind in the context of early modern philosophy and its relations to contemporary discussions. Submissions concerning the philosophy of mind and the theory of knowledge within the context of Cavendish’s work, interpreted broadly, align perfectly with the goals of our workshop. We are especially keen on perspectives that highlight Cavendish’s departure from conventional notions of consciousness, while emphasizing the interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment.
Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673), one of the most remarkable figures in early modern philosophy, made significant contributions to metaphysics, philosophy of nature, epistemology, and philosophy of mind. Despite being overshadowed by her contemporaries, her works offer profound insights into questions surrounding the mind, consciousness, and perception. She was a critic of the dominant mechanistic philosophy and proposed an alternative organicist explanation of nature, challenging the prevailing views of thinkers like Hobbes and Descartes. Cavendish’s unique metaphysical views anticipated later philosophers like Spinoza and Leibniz and contributed to a more nuanced understanding of nature’s order and infinitude. Her work also presents an early form of naturalism, resonating with contemporary philosophy and scientific inquiry. Additionally, it provides valuable insights relevant to ongoing inquiries into whether the entities surrounding us possess consciousness and intelligence.
Talk titles, schedule, and registration details will follow soon!
For registration/zoom link contact: wells@mail.uni-paderborn.de

Research Colloquium - Felix Grewe: Donna J. Haraways Concept of Storytelling as an Ecofeminist Perspective: Cyborgs, OncoMouse and Sympoiesis
2024-07-22 16:00 - 18:00 | Paderborn University, Warburger Str. 100, Paderborn, NRW, 33098, Germany
Research Colloquium Summer Term 2024
This summer term the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists continued with its tradition of the Research Colloquium. Within this colloquium members of the Center, Fellows and students present their status on personal research projects. The Research Colloquium takes place on the following dates at the center (room TP21.2.32)
This term we had a great exchange on the following topics:
May 6/May 27
Ruth E. Hagengruber, Aaron Wells & Pedro Pricladnitzky: Research Group on Émilie Du Châtelet
June 3
Iva Manova: The Research on Women Philosophers in Bulgaria
July 8
Jil Muller: Olivia Sabuco and the Mind-Body Problem
July 22
Ruth E. Hagengruber: 1000 Places: How Women Philosophers see the world and understand its history
Pedro Pricladnitzky: Brazilian Women Philosophers
Felix Grewe: Donna J. Haraways Concept of Storytelling as an Ecofeminist Perspective: Cyborgs, OncoMouse and Sympoiesis
