Kristin M. Girten tells a new story of feminist knowledge-making in
the Enlightenment era by exploring the British female philosophers
who asserted their authority through the celebration of profoundly
embodied observations, experiences, and experiments. This book
explores the feminist materialist practice of sensitive witnessing,
establishing an alternate history of the emergence of the
scientific method in the eighteenth century. Francis Bacon and
other male natural philosophers regularly downplayed the embodied
nature of their observations. They presented themselves as modest
witnesses, detached from their environment and entitled to the
domination and exploitation of it. In contrast, the
philosopher-authors that Girten takes up asserted themselves as
intimately entangled with matter—boldly embracing their perceived
close association with the material world as women. Girten shows
how Lucy Hutchison, Margaret Cavendish, Aphra Behn, Eliza Haywood,
and Charlotte Smith took inspiration from materialist principles to
challenge widely accepted "modest" conventions for practicing and
communicating philosophy. Forerunners of the feminist materialism
of today, these thinkers recognized the kinship of human and
nonhuman nature and suggested a more accessible, inclusive version
of science. Girten persuasively argues that our understanding of
Enlightenment thought must take into account these sensitive
witnesses' visions of an alternative scientific method informed by
profound closeness with the natural world.
General
Imprint: |
Stanford University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
2024 |
First published: |
2024 |
Authors: |
Kristin M. Girten
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
216 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5036-3303-2 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-5036-3303-9 |
Barcode: |
9781503633032 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!