Anna Maria von Schurman is convinced that women of her time did not realise their intellectual capacities, and therefore provides encouragement to other women attempting to develop their intellectual potential. In her Dissertation on the Natura Capacity of Women for Study and Learning, she does not only point the high quality of intellectual reasoning of women, but also their sensibility:

“Whatever contributes, by its nature, to stimulating in us a greater love of and reverence for God is appropriate for a Christian woman. But the sciences and arts, by their nature, contribute towards stimulating a greater love of and reverence for God” (Clarke, 2013, p. 86)

The greatness of God’s creation stimulates women’s sensitivity to discover God as the most beautiful, best and perfect creature.

If you want to learn more about Anna Maria van Schurman, you can listen to this video from our IAPh Conference in 2021

If you want to learn more about research on Anna Maria van Schurman, you can find scholars from our New Voices network.

References:

The Equality of the Sexes, Three Feminist Texts of the Seventeenth Century, trans. by Desmond M. Clarke, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.