Review: The Philosopher Queens, ed. by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting

Where are all the women philosophers?
• A beautifully illustrated introduction to twenty of the most important and underrepresented women philosophers, from 400BCE to the present day
• In 2015, women accounted for only 22% of philosophy professors at the top 20 US universities; in some fields of philosophy there has been almost no increase in the number of women since the 1970s
• Three of the most comprehensive histories of philosophy published in the last 20 years have made little or no mention of women

The history of philosophy has not done women justice: you’ve probably heard the names Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and Locke – but what about Hypatia, Arendt, Oluwole and Young?

The Philosopher Queens is a long-awaited book about the lives and works of women in philosophy by women in philosophy. This collection brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound – but for the most part uncredited – impact on the
world.

You’ll learn about Ban Zhao, the first woman historian in ancient Chinese history; Angela Davis, perhaps the most iconic symbol of the American Black Power Movement; Azizah Y. al- Hibri, known for examining the intersection of Islamic law and gender equality; and many more.

For anyone who has wondered where the women philosophers are, or anyone curious about the history of ideas – it’s time to meet the philosopher queens.

My Review

Thanks to Anna at Random Things Tours for organising the blog tour and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

The Rosie Synopsis

The Philosopher Queens aims to make up for the lack of knowledge about women philosophers by providing a book of biographies of a selected group of women philosophers, written by women.

The Good

The chapters were each written by different contributors, so each had a slightly different feel and focus, which kept things interesting. Some focused on the lives of the subject and some focused on the subject’s contribution to philosophy. Each was engaging and enlightening.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters on women known predominantly as authors/novelists, because many novels are explorations of philosophical ideas, they are dismissed because they use fiction to explore the ideas and that seems rather unfair.

I enjoyed the portraits, the texture of the pages and the weight/heft of the book. These sensory things are as important as the content for enjoying a book. I can’t like a book with bad paper or printing.

The Not-So-Good

Could have been bigger, or included more women from South America, Asia and Africa. It’s very Euro and Euro-American centric.

The Verdict

Excellent introduction to the lesser known philosophers who deserve to be as well known as their male counterparts. My TBR might be getting just a bit bigger.

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About the editors

Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting met at secondary school, where they discovered a shared passion for philosophy. Rebecca is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, where her research focuses on the political rights of refugees and forced migrants. Lisa is completing her MSc in Government, Policy and Politics at Birkbeck, University of London. Alongside studying, she works as a policy advisor in areas concerning practical ethics. Both Rebecca and Lisa are available for events, interview and features, as are various contributors.