History of Women Philosophers and Scientists
Jil Muller-Research Profile

I am Deputy Head of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, as well as Post-doctoral Researcher and Assistant Professor for Philosophy at Paderborn University.

My research is twofold: on the one hand, I am interested in the medical traditions of 16th and 17th century philosophers and scientists and their understanding of the body, mechanism and humourism, with a particular focus on women thinkers. I have published articles on Descartes’ physiology and anatomy, on his correspondence with Elisabeth of Bohemia, on Montaigne’s illness and on Oliva Sabuco’s holism. On the other hand, I am working on the moral theories of women philosophers and scientists of the early modern period, such as Marie de Gournay, Sophie Germain and Émilie du Châtelet.

In my work, I am always trying to combine both fields of research. I recently have edited three books in the fields of history of medicine and philosophy: Women and their Body (Berlin and New York: de Gruyter 2025), Automata, Cyborgs and Mutants: Eccentric Bodies from Humanism to Transhumanism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2026) and Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine (Cham: Springer Nature 2026).

I received my PhD at the University of Strasbourg, with a dissertation on Montaigne, Descartes and the question of original sin. I have published my book Soigner le corps humain. Péchés et remèdes chez Montaigne et Descartes with Classiques Garnier. 

 

https://philpeople.org/profiles/jil-muller

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=196kz5UAAAAJ&hl=fr

 



  • Curriculum Vitae

    Assistant Professor and Deputy Head of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, with expertise in early modern philosophy and women philosophers. Combines extensive academic experience with leadership in research management, coordination of international networks, and science communication. Experienced in third-party funding acquisition, supervision of doctoral researchers, and strategic representation of research institutions within and beyond academia.

    French qualification for associate professor, February 2022.

     

    Previous positions:

    • 2021, September – 2022, August: Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists: DFG-funded edition project of the “Historical-critical digital edition of the Paris manuscripts of Émilie du Châtelet’s Institutions de physique”.
    • 2017, September ­– 2019, June: Ater (temporary assistant in education and research) and PhD student in philosophy at the University of Strasbourg.
    • 2014, October – 2017, June: contractual PhD student in Philosophy and History of Philosophy at the University of Strasbourg (supervisor: prof. Frédéric de Buzon).

     

    Languages

    Luxembourgish (native), German (excellent), French (excellent), English (fluent), Italian (fluent)
    Latin (good), Ancient Greek (basic)

     

    Leadership & Management Experience

    Since 2022 – Deputy Head, Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn University

    • Coordination of a multidisciplinary and international research team (doctoral fellows, student assistants, and visiting scholars).
    • Strategic planning and supervision of research activities, conferences, and digital humanities projects.
    • Grant writing experience of third-party funding (DFG, BMBF, Horizon Europe, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions).
    • Independent acquisition of funding for the international hybrid conference Women and their Body (2023).
    • Recipient of the European Commission Seal of Excellence (Horizon Europe 2022).
    • External and internal representation of the Center, including collaborations with cultural institutions and public-facing communication.
    • Mentorship of early-career researchers and doctoral candidates.
    • Organisation and moderation of international hybrid events and summer schools.

     

    Main research fields

    Fields:

    • History of philosophy: History of early modern philosophy (in particular French and German philosophies) and early modern Women Philosophers
    • Early modern philosophy and medicine
    • History of medicine and medical theories
    • Early modern philosophy of science

     

    Topics:

    • Ethics and moral philosophy in Montaigne and Descartes (in connection with stoicism, epicureanism, medieval philosophy, and sixteenth-century French moralists)
    • Moral philosophies in Women Philosophers (Sophie Germain, Marie de Gournay, Gabrielle Suchon, Émilie du Châtelet)
    • Medical theories and practices in early modern philosophies
    • Philosophies of sciences and practical knowledge in early modern philosophies

     

    Education and degrees:

    • 09/2019 PhD in History of Philosophy, University of Strasbourg (supervisor: prof. Frédéric de Buzon). Title of dissertation : La question du péché et du mal chez Montaigne et Descartes.
    • 06/2014, Master degree in Philosophy (Master in Humanities and Social Sciences, mention Philosophy), University of Strasbourg (supervisor: prof. Frédéric de Buzon). Title of dissertation: Montaigne et Descartes, Les concepts moraux.
    • 05/2012 Bachelor degree in Philosophy (Bachelor in Humanities and Social Sciences, mention Philosophy), University of Strasbourg, mention « bien ».
    • 2009 High School Diploma at Lycée classique de Diekirch (Luxembourg)

     

    Prizes and Awards

    • Seal of Excellence from European Commission Horizon Europe (2022) for the Project: DescartesSurgery, “Descartes and Renaissance Surgery: The Mechanical Idea of Human Being”.
    • VivaMente Award 2022 from the Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) Pisa.

     

    Third-Party Funding

    • Funding from Paderborn University’s equal opportunities funding line 2 (Support for junior professors and post-doctoral students through WiMi positions) for a one-year pre-doc candidate in early modern philosophy.
    • Acquisition of Third-party funding for the international, hybrid Conference Women and their Body (15th-17th March 2023)

     

    Research Experience (Grant-writing Experience):

    • 2025: Proposal for Grant from the deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft, Einzelprojekt: „Die Entdeckung des weiblichen „Ich“ – Introspektion, Handlungsfähigkeit und „Embodiment“ in der (Spät-)Renaissance“
    • 2023: Proposal for Grant from the Forschungsprogramm der deutschen Akademien der Wissenschaft für 2025; Projekt: Émilie du Châtelet in der deutschen Aufklärung – Archäologie eines philosophischen Systems.
    • 2023: Proposal for Grant from the deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft, Einzelprojekt: „The Lotzean roots in Constance Jones’s ethics and moral psychology“
    • 2023: Proposal for Grant from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung: Innovative Frauen im Fokus; Project: PHIL_IN „Sammeln und sichtbar machen des weiblichen europäischen Kulturerbes in Philosophie- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte“
    • 2020+2021: Proposal for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: European Postdoctoral Fellowship; Project: DescartesSurgery, “Descartes and Renaissance Surgery: The Mechanical Idea of Human Being”.

     

    Responsibilities at the Universities

    • Since September 2025 (for two years): Member of the UPB Faculty Council (Humanities/Kulturwissenschaften) for mid-level academic positions.
    • Since September 2024: Member of the UPB research commission (Humanities/Kulturwissenschaften) for mid-level academic positions.
    • Since September 2022: Coordinator of the New Voices Project by the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn.
    • March 2016 – March 2018: elected voting member of the faculty board at the University of Strasbourg
    • Committee for the organisation of a doctoral summer school 2015 (from 6 to 11 July), Strasbourg.
    • February 2015 – February 2017: Member of the voting board at the doctoral school, representative for the PhD students (University of Strasbourg).

     

    Memberships

    • Netzwerk Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung NRW
    • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Philosophie
    • ESEMP (European Society for Early Modern Philosophy)
    • Deutscher Akademikerinnen Bund e.V.
    • CREPHAC (Centre de recherches en philosophie allemande et contemporaine, University of Strasbourg/ France)
    • PRIN (Early modern Philosophy and Science, University of Piemont/ Italy)

     

    Core Competencies

    • Research management and strategic planning
    • Science communication and institutional representation
    • Third-party funding acquisition and administration
    • Team leadership and mentoring
    • International and intercultural collaboration
    • Academic teaching and supervision
  • Publications

    Monograph:

    • Soigner l’humain. Péchés et remèdes chez Montaigne and Descartes, Classiques Garnier, coll. « Essais sur Montaigne et son temps », 2022 – Work reviewed in Revue d’Histoire littéraire de la France, 124e année, n° 1, 1 –2024 (Valerio Cordiner, p. 164-165) ; on the website https://pakblog.uni-nke.hu/hirek/2022/08/03/a-buntol-a-vetekig 2022 (Eszter Kovács).

     

    Editor:

     

    Articles:

     

    Online Edition:

    • Du Châtelet, Émilie: Institutions de physique. The Paris Manuscript BnF Fr. 12265. A Critical and Historical Online Edition. Edited by Ruth E. Hagengruber, Hanns-Peter Neumann and Aaron Wells with collaboration of Pierpaolo Betti, Jil Muller, Pedro Pricladnitzky. Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn University, Paderborn.
  • Organization of scientific events

    Organised and co-organised more than 15 international conferences, workshops, and summer schools (2015–2025).

    • 27-31 July 2026: Libori Summer School, History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • 08-12 September 2025: Libori Summer School, The Early Works of Émilie Du Châtelet, organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • 18 June 2025: Hybrid Workshop Women in the History of Medicine and Philosophy, organised together with Dr. Ivana Skuhala Karasman (Senior scientific fellow at IFZG Croatia) and the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • New Voices Summer Term Talk Series 2025, on Fertility, Maternity, Reproduction: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine, Online Meetings organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University and with the Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, directed by Dr. Fabrizio Bigotti, Pisa, Italy.
    • New Voices Summer Term Talk Series 2024 on Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine, Online Meetings organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University and with the Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, directed by Dr. Fabrizio Bigotti, Pisa, Italy.
    • 19 and 20 June 2023: Co-organisation of the Croatia Libori Summer School on Women Philosophers and Scientists on Psychology, Mind, and Body Awareness.
    • 15, 16 and 17 March 2023: International, hybrid Conference Women and their body, organised in cooperation with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • New Voices Winter Term Talk Series 2022/23 on Women and their body, Online Meetings organised in cooperation with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • 21 and 22 April 2022: Conference about From Automata to Transhumans: Debating Human Nature and its Limitations 1600-2000, organised with the Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR), in Pisa, in the context of the VivaMente 2022 Award.
    • 23 November 2021: Workshop on Space and Time: 18th – 19th century Women Philosophers and Scientists, organised at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn.
    • 29 and 30 March 2017: Conference about “Image, imaginaire et imagination chez Descartes et ses contemporains,” in collaboration with Frédric de Buzon, financed by the Crephac (research center of philosophy Strasbourg).
    • 5 October 2016: Doctoral study day about “le Temps,” in collaboration with Mariana Bardelli, financed by the Crephac.
    • 30 March 2016: Study day about “La connaissance de soi,” in collaboration with Nicolas Quérini, financed by the Crephac.
    • 20 January 2016: Doctoral study day about “le Mal,” in collaboration with Nicolas Quérini, financed by the Crephac.
    • 2 October 2015: Doctoral study day following the doctoral summer school in July, financed by the doctoral school.
    • 24 April 2015: Doctoral study day about “L’individu et la liberté,” in collaboration with Frédéric de Buzon, financed by the Crephac.
  • New Voices Talk Series
    • New Voices Summer Term Talk Series 2026, on Female Voices, Media, and Modes of Communication in Theology and Philosophy, Online Meetings organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University and Dr. Marguerite El Asmar Bou Aoun and Dr. Katia Raya from the Saint Joseph University of Beirut and Dr. Daniel Fischer from the University of Lorraine.
    • New Voices Summer Term Talk Series 2025, on Fertility, Maternity, Reproduction: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine, Online Meetings organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University and with the Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, directed by Dr. Fabrizio Bigotti, Pisa, Italy.
    • New Voices Summer Term Talk Series 2024 on Food, Plants, Remedies and Healing Practices: Women’s Ideas in the History of Medicine, Online Meetings organised together with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University and with the Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, directed by Dr. Fabrizio Bigotti, Pisa, Italy.
    • 15, 16 and 17 March 2023: International, hybrid Conference Women and their body, organised in cooperation with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
    • New Voices Winter Term Talk Series 2022/23 on Women and their body, Online Meetings organised in cooperation with the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, directed by Prof. Dr. Ruth E. Hagengruber, Paderborn University.
  • Online Talks and Events
  • Invited Speaker/Keynote Speaker

    2026

    • Olismo in Oliva Sabuco ed Elisabetta di Bohemia – Seminario La filosofia delle donne, Temi e concetti nel pensiero filosofico femminile, Università di Trento, 11 March 2026.

     

    2025

    • Enseigner les femmes philosophes: correspondences, journaux intimes et la querelle des femmes – International Conference Enseigner les invisibles. Quels corpus de philosophie moderne dans les salles de classe ?, ENS de Lyon, 18-19 December 2025.

     

    2024

    • Zur Historie des Hebammenberufs – DAB Fachsymposium Akademisierung der Hebammenausbildung, Herausforderungen und Chancen, Deutscher Akademikerinnenbund e.V., Leipzig, 19 October 2024.
    • Renaissance Moral Theories and Bioethics – Research Colloquium, Institut für Bio- und Medizinethik, University of Basel, 10 September 2024.

     

    2023

    • Philosophinnen sichtbar machen – Kolloquium Geschlechter Geschichte, Freie Universität zu Berlin, 1 December 2023.
    • Marie de Gournay: The Philosopher Slandered by a Patriarchal Society – 6th Fino Graduate Conference in the History of Philosophy, Pavia, Italy, 12 September 2023.
    • Throwback on the Conference Women and their body – Conference Women and Sport in Europe: Past and Present, organised by Cultural Entrepreneurship Institute Berlin, Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists,Ischia Cultura, 9 May 2023.
    • Melancholy and Fever in the Early Modern Period, The Role of the Mesentery in the Medical Texts of Montaigne and Descartes – Online lecture, Center for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, Pisa, 8 February 2023.
  • Speaker

    2025

    • Oliva Sabuco on Natural Philosophy – Conference Women Writing Natural Philosophy in Early Modern Europe: Spaces and Exchanges, the University of Exeter, 2-4 June 2025.

     

    2024

    • Presentation of the Center HWPS – Gleichstellungstag “Zusammen wirken”, Berlin, 5 November 2024. Invited presentation on institutional communication and visibility strategies for research centers and stakeholders on gender and women issues.
    • Presentation of the Center HWPS as a Digital Project in the Humanities – Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, Münster, 22 to 26 September 2024.
    • Women and their Body – Conference 25th World Congress of Philosophy “Philosophies across boundaries”, Sapienza University, Rome, 1 to 8 August 2024.
    • Olivia Sabuco and the “mind-body problem” – Conference Writing the World: Early Modern Women, Natural Philosophy and Medicine, University of York, 11 and 12 July 2024.

     

    2023

    • Émilie du Châtelet und René Descartes: Legitimierung einer Erfahrungs- und Wissenstheorie – Workshop Macht der Gewohnheit, Macht des Schreibens, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, 8 and 9 May 2023.

     

    2022

    • Émilie du Châtelet and René Descartes – Croatia Libori Summer School, University of Zadar, 11-14 July 2022.
    • Descartes on Clocks and Automata – Conference From Automata to Transhumans: Debating Human Nature and its Limitations 1600-2000, Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance, Pisa, 21 and 22 April 2022.
    • Marie de Gournay and Michel de Montaigne: a lie as a vice for public utility – Workshop Vice, sin, and sociability in early modern moral and political philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, 11 and 12 April 2022.

     

    2021

    • Sophie Germain on Space and Time – Workshop Space and Time: 18th-19th century Women Philosophers and Scientists, Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn, 23 November 2021.
    • Les ‘fleaux de nostre ame’ : les vices dans la pensée de Montaigne et de Descartes – Workshop Nouvelles Perspectives montaignistes, Journée d’études européennes jeunes chercheurs, 28 and 29 May 2021, via Zoom.

     

    2020

    • Ambroise Paré and René Descartes on Sensations in Amputated Limbs – Conference Medicine in the Philosophy of Descartes, Lights and Shadows, Domus Comeliana, Pisa, 18 to 20 November 2020 (via Zoom).

     

    2018

    • Vernunft und Leidenschaften der Seele. Das Beispiel der Traurigkeit in den Briefen an Elisabeth von der Pfalz – Workshop Elisabeth of Bohemia – Women and Early Modern Philosophy, “Frauen in der Geschichte der Philosophie,” Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists, Paderborn, 17 May 2018.
    • Die Rolle des Körpers in den Leidenschaften: die Traurigkeit der Prinzessin – Talk at the University of Freiburg, 11 May 2018.

     

    2017

    • L’orgueil et la générosité chez Descartes – Franco-American Workshop in Lyon, 8 to 10 June 2017.
    • L’imagination induit-elle en erreur ? Le rôle de l’imagination dans la connaissance, chez Montaigne et Descartes – Conference l’Image, imaginaire et imagination chez Descartes et ses contemporains in Strasbourg, 29 to 30 March 2017.

     

    2016

    • Le monde n’est qu’une branloire pérenne : le temps fuyant chez Montaigne – Doctoral study day about “le Temps” in Strasbourg, 5th October 2016.
    • Connaissance de soi et estime de soi chez Descartes – Study day about “La connaissance de soi” in Strasbourg, 30 March 2016.
    • Du cuider naît le péché, le mal moral chez Montaigne – Doctoral study day about “le Mal” in Strasbourg, 20 January 2016.

     

    2015

    • Conscience de soi, liberté et individuation chez Descartes – Night of philosophy in Strasbourg, 7 May 2015.
    • Conscience de soi, liberté et individuation chez Descartes – Doctoral study day about “L’individu et la liberté” in Strasbourg, 24 April 2015.
    • Philosophie, morale et transmission: Descartes et la princesse Élisabeth – Doctoral study day at the doctoral school in Strasbourg, 13 February 2015.

     

    2014

    • Le monde chez Montaigne – Talk in the Master class in Strasbourg, 10 December 2014.
  • Teaching

    Assistant Professor at Paderborn University (2022-2026):

    Summerterm 2026:

    • Lectures on Elisabeth of Bohemia’s Correspondence with René Descartes
    • Lectures on Female Voices in Philosophy and Theology
    • Libori Summer School

     

    Winterterm 2025-2026:

    • Lectures on Elisabeth of Bohemia’s Correspondence with René Descartes
    • Lectures on Self-awareness through suffering and pain in the early modern period

     

    Summerterm 2025:

    • Lectures on “Why women can’t study” (16th to 18th centuries, educational access for women)
    • Lectures on Self-awareness through suffering and pain in the early modern period
    • Libori Summer School

     

    Winterterm 2024-2025:

    • Lectures on Women Scientists from the 16th to the 18th centuries
    • Lectures on “Why women can’t study” (16th to 18th centuries, educational access for women)

     

    Summersemester 2024:

    • Lectures on Émilie du Châtelet and her Discourse on Happiness
    • Lectures on Women Philosophers and Scientists of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries

     

    Winterterm 2023-2024:

    • Lectures on Émilie du Châtelet and her Discourse on Happiness
    • Lectures on the proof of God in the 17th and 18th centuries

     

    Summersemester 2023:

    • Lectures on Women and their body
    • Lectures on Émilie du Châtelet’s Discourse on Happiness

     

    Winterterm 2022-2023:

    • Lectures on Women and their body
    • Lectures on the Concept of Liberty from 1600 to 1800

     

    Examiner of 7 Bachelor Theses and 2 Master Thesis.

     

    Ater at the University of Strasbourg (2017-2019):

    2018-2019 :

    • Lectures in History of modern philosophy (1st year, S2): Descartes : Méditations métaphysiques
    • Practical sessions in History of modern philosophy (1st year, S2): Correspondance de Descartes avec la princesse Élisabeth
    • Lectures in History of modern philosophy (3rd year, S1): La liberté au XVIIe siècle : Hobbes et ses contemporains
    • Practical sessions in History of modern philosophy (3rd year, S1): Lecture des Éléments de la loi de Hobbes
    • Practical sessions of research methodology (4th year, S1)
    • Lectures in History of modern philosophy [Locke] (5th year, S1 and “Agrégation”): Pensée politique et religieuse de Locke

     

    2017-2018 :

    • Lectures in History of German philosophy (1st year, S2): Kant et Leibniz sur la question du mal.
    • Practical sessions in History of German philosophy (1st year, S2): Leibniz, Essais de Théodicée
    • Lectures in general philosophy (3rd year, S1): La liberté au XVIIe siècle : Hobbes et ses contemporains
    • Practical sessions in general philosophy (3rd year, S1): Lecture des Éléments de la loi de Hobbes
    • Practical sessions of disciplinary methodology (2nd year, S1)
    • Practical sessions of research methodology (4th year, S2)
    • Practical sessions of research methodology (5th year, S1)

     

    Teaching assistant at the University of Strasbourg (2014-2017), contractual PhD:

    2016-2017 :

    • Practical sessions of research methodology (4th year, S2)
    • Practical sessions in History of modern philosophy (1st year, S2): Machiavel et Erasme
    • Practical sessions of research methodology (5th year, S1).

     

    2015-2016 :

    • Practical sessions in History of German philosophy (1st year, S2): Kant et Leibniz sur la question du mal.
    • Practical sessions of research methodology (4th year, S2).

     

    2014-2015 :

    • Practical sessions in History of modern philosophy (1st year, S2): Les passions de l’âme de Descartes
    • Practical sessions in History of German philosophy (2nd year, S3): Kant et Leibniz sur la question du mal.
    • Practical sessions in disciplinary methodology (3rd year, S5)
  • Editorial Project Paris Manuscripts

    Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions physiques. The Paris Manuscript BnF 12.265

  • Contact information

    jil.muller@uni-paderborn.de

     

    https://www.uni-paderborn.de/en/person/91668

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History of Women Philosophers and Scientists

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Prof. Dr. Ruth Edith Hagengruber
Paderborn University
Germany

PROJECT ADVISOR (2016-2019)

Prof. Dr. Mary Ellen Waithe,
Cleveland State University, USA

 

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