A well-founded answer can be found in the Directory of Women Philosophers.

The Directory is a digital research project of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists at Paderborn University. It offers a systematic overview of women philosophers and scientists from around 2300 BCE to the present day. Currently, the Directory contains over 240 entries, which are continuously expanded and updated. Each entry provides biographical information, an extensive collection of primary and secondary sources, key quotations, links to philosophical core concepts, as well as additional materials for further research – including audiovisual content and online resources.

One particularly detailed entry is dedicated to Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise Du Châtelet(1706–1749). Du Châtelet was a philosopher, physicist, and mathematician. She played a key role in transmitting Newtonian physics in France, combined Newtonian physics with Leibnizian metaphysics, and addressed a wide range of topics in her writings, including natural philosophy, ethics, language, and metaphysics. Her work was received throughout Europe and influenced many contemporary and later thinkers, including Euler, Kant, and Diderot.

In recognition of her early philosophical writings, the Center is organizing the Libori Summer School 2025, September 8–12, 2025 at Paderborn University (in-person & hybrid). During the Summer School, key texts by Du Châtelet will be read and discussed together, including: On Liberty and Free Will, Commentary on Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees, On the Formation of Colours, On Grammar, and Treatise on Metaphysics. Further information about the program, participating scholars, and organizational details can be found here.

Interested in participating?

Application deadline: August 15, 2025
To apply, please submit the following documents:

• A one-page CV
• A short analysis (approx. 1000 words) on one of the selected topics (Liberty, Mandeville, Colours, Grammar, Metaphysics)

Please send your application via email to: contact@historyofwomenphilosophers.org
(ECTS credits are only available for in-person participants. Hybrid participation without credits is also possible.)